Idea of Palestinian state buried, there's nothing to recognise: Israel minister
Development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations. On Thursday, Smotrich praised President Donald Trump and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as "true friends of Israel as we have never had before." The E1 plan has not yet received its final approval, which is expected next week. The plan includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim, Smotrich said. While some bureaucratic steps remain, if the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year.
Rights groups swiftly condemned the plan. Peace Now called it "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution" which is "guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed."The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement in an interview on Tuesday that he was "very" attached to the vision of a Greater Israel. He did not elaborate, but supporters of the idea believe that Israel should control not only the occupied West Bank but parts of Arab countries.
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