Israel has approved on Monday the construction of 112 apartments in the West Bank, said the Ministry of Defense.

This is a "continuation of the construction site" in a West Bank settlement, the ministry told Xinhua via an e-mail.

The program, which was approved in former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's term, has already started before last November's order of settlement freeze, according to the ministry.

"An exception is generated due to infrastructure problems and safety properties," said the ministry.

The decision came amid a growing sense of anticipation that Israelis and Palestinians are about to re-launch the long-stalled peace talks.

United States Vice President Joe Biden will arrive in the region Monday afternoon, in a fresh effort to set the peace process on the right track.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Sunday gave greenlight to hold indirect negotiations with Israel, after the Arab League's nod to the proposal of the U.S. proposal.

The construction of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is a major problem holding back the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which have been suspended since Israeli army's operation last winter in the Gaza Strip.

Last November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a 10-month freeze on construction in the West Bank settlements in an attempt to revive the peace talks. However, he stressed that the construction limits would not be implemented in East Jerusalem, which has been seen for years as prospective capital of a future Palestinian state. Construction for security reasons is also excluded from the moratorium.

The Palestinian Authority has refused to restart peace talks without a full freeze of Israeli settlement construction.

Some 300,000 Israelis now live in settlement build in the West Bank, and an additional 180,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem.