A senior official in Judea and Samaria has defended Chairman Yossi Dagan of the Samaria Regional Council against a statement made by a political source in Jerusalem that the Dagan's construction demands would harm relations between Israel and the United States.
Referring to the announcement of nearly 4,000 dwellings headed for approval, the official said, "These numbers are inflated as each stage of authorization of a house in Judea and Samaria is counted five times, and this number can actually be divided into five to get the actual number of building permits in practice."