Tel Aviv  - Israel is to build new houses at a settlement in the West Bank, despite growing pressure for a freeze on settlements in the occupied territories, Israeli media reported Thursday.

An initial 20 new homes would be built at Maskiyot to accommodate families evacuated from the Gaza Strip in 2005 during Israel's withdrawal from the salient. They have been living in the nearby Hemdat settlement since their evacuation, awaiting permanent residences.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak was expected to authorize the project soon, the Haaretz newspaper said.

His predecessor Amir Peretz had been forced in early 2007 to withdraw a decision to declare Maskiyot a residential settlement as a result of pressure from the United States and the European Union in particular.

At the time, government officials argued that the former military camp had been founded in the early 1980s with the express purpose of one day being home to civilians.

Maskiyot is located in the Jordan Valley, a strategic plane through which the River Jordan runs and from which Israel has said that it has no intention of withdrawing, even as part of any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. (dpa)