Israel has given final approval for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank, which experts say would damage plans for any future territorially contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.
The plan, announced by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on August 14, includes the construction of about 3,500 apartments in the E1 area, situated next to the existing settlement of Maale Adumim.
Smotrich hailed the decision as “historic” and framed the approval as a rebuke to Western countries that announced their plans to recognize a Palestinian state in recent weeks.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” Smotrich said. “Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah, in the north, and Bethlehem, in the south.
The hope among advocates for a Palestinian state was that the region would serve as a direct link between the cities.
The United Nations urged Israel to reverse its decision to start work on the settlement, with UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stating, “It would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution. Settlements go against international law… [and] further entrench the occupation.”
Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group, also called the plan a land grab that “will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has promised to maintain open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem, and war-ravaged Gaza – territories Israel seized in 1967.
Israel’s expansion of settlements has occurred alongside marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations, and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers now live on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The settlement plan is seen as a significant obstacle to the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.
According to Peace Now, an organization that tracks settlement expansion in the West Bank, “The settlement in E1 has no purpose other than to sabotage a political solution.”
The group’s statement highlights the concerns of many who believe that Israel’s settlement expansion is designed to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.
The international community has been critical of Israel’s settlement expansion, with many viewing it as a major obstacle to peace.
The US, in particular, has been a key player in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and its stance on settlements has been closely watched. While the US has historically supported Israel, it has also called for a halt to settlement expansion as a necessary step towards peace.