Israel's right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said he will approve plans to build over 3,000 homes in a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank - a move he said would prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
The so-called E1 project, between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, has been frozen for decades amid fierce international opposition. Building there would virtually cut off the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem and significantly disrupt its territorial continuity. “The plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich said, according to Israeli media.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. They are one of the most contentious issues between Israelis and Palestinians. About 700,000 settlers live in about 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now — land that Palestinians want for a future independent state. “After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and linking Maale Adumim to Jerusalem,” Smotrich said. “This is Zionism at its best — building, establishing and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel.”
The statement follows announcements by a growing number of countries in recent days of their intention to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months — a move that Israel has condemned. According to i24 News, Smotrich is expected to announce the plan at a press conference on Thursday, along with the head of the Yesha settlement council, Israel Ganz, and the mayor of Ma'ale Adumim, Guy Yifrach.
Peace Now said: “The Netanyahu government is using every minute to deepen the annexation of the West Bank and thwart the possibility of a two-state solution. It is clear to everyone today that the only solution to the conflict, and the only way to defeat Hamas, is to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Israeli government is condemning us to continued bloodshed, instead of working to end it.”
Smotrich, along with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, were sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June for “repeated incitement to violence against Palestinian communities” in the occupied West Bank.
The construction of 3,401 housing units in the E1 area has been frozen for 20 years. The development of this area has long been seen as a step that would effectively block the creation of a Palestinian state, due to its strategic position separating areas south of Jerusalem from those to the north, preventing a continuous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Since Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel's pressure on Palestinians in the West Bank has increased significantly, justified as legitimate security measures. The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law - a position supported last year by an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)./BBC
