Construction begins on first new settlement for 25 years

Announcing the development on social media, Mr Netanyahu tweeted: “Today, ground works began, as I promised, for the establishment of the new community for the residents of Amona.

“After decades, I have the privilege to be the prime minister who is building a new community in Judea and Samaria.”

The news comes a day before Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, arrives in the country to try to revive the peace process.

Earlier this year Mr Trump called on the Israeli premier to “hold back on settlements for a little bit” in an attempt to build bridges with the Palestinian people. But his words appear to have fallen on deaf ears as Mr Netanyahu yesterday told a meeting of his Likud party that “there was not and will not be a better government for settlement than our government”.

Prospective residents reacted to the news with caution. A statement from a group of Amona evacuees said: “The entire public expects from the prime minister not to allow any enemy element, whether leftist or judicial or bureaucratic, to stop the works.

“This success — the building of a new community in Judea and Samaria — cannot be allowed to turn into a failure and a farce.”

Jewish settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal under international law and are considered a major stumbling block for a future peace deal.

A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called the move “a grave escalation and an attempt to foil efforts by the American administration to revive negotiations”.