Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has approved 200 new homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, a government official said on Wednesday, despite a call by a U.S.-backed peace plan for a halt to such construction. The official, from the Defense Ministry, said the 200 houses were planned for Maale Adumim, the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank and that Mofaz also approved preparatory steps for expanding two isolated settlements, Bracha and Nokdim. Full Story