Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday that new settlements will not be built in the West Bank, while existing settlements could be expanded due to "natural growth."

During the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the government was committed to upholding the law in the West Bank, a reference to his government's plan to dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts in the territories.

Also at the meeting, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared that Israel will dismantle 22 illegal outposts in the West Bank, and warned that settlers will be evicted forcefully if they resist.

However, some right-wing legislators immediately voiced strong opposition to the decision of dismantling the outposts.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, expressed their opposition to the unilateral dismantling of outposts in the West Bank.

However, Netanyahu was under pressure from the US government, which has been calling on Israel to stop its settlement and outpost expansions.

While meeting with Netanyahu in the White House on Monday, US President Barack Obama said that "under the road map, under Annapolis, there's a clear understanding that we have to make progress on settlements, that settlements have to be stopped in order for us to move forward."

There are more than 280,000 Israeli settlers currently living in the occupied West Bank and some 200,000 living in settlements in annexed east Jerusalem, according to statistics from local organization of Peace Now.