JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has quietly agreed to grant subsidies to build more than 500 new homes in the West Bank, backing away from a promise earlier this year to deny these incentives to the settlements.

The planned construction, at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to shore up support among settlers, has enraged the Palestinians and could cloud a visit that started Sunday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she tries to reenergize moribund Middle East peace efforts.