Smotrich Greenlights Settlement to ‘Bury' Palestinian Statehood
In a statement on Wednesday, Smotrich said he would authorize tenders for more than 3,000 homes in the E1 area, a project that would link Jerusalem to the large settlement of Maale Adumim, several kilometers to the east.
'Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the government,' he said, describing the project as 'Zionism at its best.'
Smotrich, who also serves in the Ministry of Defence with broad powers over West Bank settlement approvals, celebrated breaking 'decades of international pressure and freezes' to connect Maale Adumim to Jerusalem.
Strategic Impact on Palestinian Territory
Critics and observers have long warned that construction in E1 would have grave consequences for any future Palestinian state. The project's location would cut the occupied West Bank into northern and southern sections, severing East Jerusalem from Palestinian urban centers like Bethlehem and Ramallah and making a contiguous Palestinian territory virtually impossible.
The plan had been postponed in 2022 under US pressure, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition has revived it in recent months. The government has already approved road expansions in the area and restricted Palestinian access.
Israeli settlement leaders hailed the announcement as a historic breakthrough. Israel Gantz, head of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization representing settlers, and the Binyamin Regional Council, called it a 'tremendous and historic achievement' and a 'true revolution in strengthening the settlement enterprise.'
Maale Adumim mayor Guy Yifrach described the project as a 'Zionist response of settlement and nation-building' and claimed it would thwart what he called Palestinian 'illegal construction' aimed at establishing a foothold in the area.
Wider Settlement Expansion
According to Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, a total of 4,030 new housing units were approved on Wednesday across the occupied West Bank.
These include 730 units west of the Ariel settlement and 3,300 in a new Maale Adumim neighborhood that will connect it to its eastern industrial zone.
Peace Now noted that the Maale Adumim expansion alone represents a 33% increase in the settlement's housing stock, a significant boost for a community whose population has hovered around 38,000 for the past decade. The group added that this scale of expansion raises 'serious questions about the need for the E1 plan' itself.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=66608
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Days of Palestine
an hour ago
- Days of Palestine
Israeli Drone Kills Young Palestinian Girl Fetching Water in Gaza
DaysofPal- Disturbing footage has emerged from northern Gaza showing the moment an Israeli drone targeted and killed a Palestinian girl as she attempted to fetch water for her family in Jabalia. According to Palestine Online, the child, already suffering from hunger and thirst amid Gaza's deepening humanitarian crisis, was struck by a missile fired from an Israeli reconnaissance drone. Witnesses said she was carrying water when the strike instantly killed her, leaving her small body in charred fragments. The incident underscores the grim reality for civilians in Gaza, where Israeli forces has continued to target residential areas and civilians regardless of age or gender. Areas like Jabalia, Zeitoun, Shuja'iyya, and Tuffah have been declared 'red zones' by the Israeli occupation forces, coming under continuous bombardment by land and air. Only last week, separate drone footage revealed unprecedented destruction across eastern Gaza neighborhoods, documenting entire streets, homes, and infrastructure reduced to rubble. Since October 2023, ongoing Israeli crimes in Gaza have been described by human rights groups and international observers as genocide. The genocidal campaign has included mass killings, systematic starvation, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and forced displacement, in defiance of United Nations resolutions and orders from the International Court of Justice demanding an end to the violence. Health authorities in Gaza report that the war has claimed more than 61,000 lives, left 154,088 people wounded, and displaced hundreds of thousands. Over 9,000 remain missing, while famine conditions have killed at least 227 people, including 103 children. The death of the young girl in Jabalia serves as another stark reminder of the escalating civilian toll in Gaza, where basic survival, such as the simple act of fetching water, has become a deadly risk. Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
an hour ago
- Days of Palestine
Orthodox Church in Gaza: Israeli Assault on Zaytoun District Aims at Genocide and Forcible Displacement
DaysofPal- The Orthodox Church in Gaza has condemned the ongoing Israeli military assault in the Zaytoun neighborhood east of Gaza City, warning that its true objective is the extermination and forced displacement of the population. 'This is our land and we have no other place. We will not leave, no matter the consequences,' said Elias Al-Jelda, a member of the Council of Trustees of the Arab Orthodox Church in Gaza. Al-Jelda described the assault as 'a true annihilation of history, land, and every marker of Palestinian existence,' accusing Israeli forces of systematically demolishing homes, carrying out mass killings, and destroying essential infrastructure. He said the situation reflects 'genocide by every measure', noting that civilians are left with no refuge as entire streets are turned into mass graves. The Orthodox official also warned that the offensive targets some of the oldest Islamic and Christian holy sites in the world in an effort to erase Palestinian identity and memory. He stressed that the Israeli actions amount to 'a massacre' that spares neither Muslims nor Christians but affects the Palestinian people as a whole. Since last week, the Zaytoun neighborhood has faced continuous bombardment, with nearly 400 homes destroyed through a combination of explosive drones, heavy airstrikes, and artillery fire. Local residents and rights groups say the campaign mirrors previous Israeli offensives in Rafah, Khan Younis, and northern Gaza, where entire districts were leveled to force mass displacement. The assault comes less than a month after Israeli forces bombed the Church of the Holy Family in eastern Gaza, one of the enclave's oldest Christian institutions. The strike killed three people and wounded nine others, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli. The church, affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, has since become a refuge for civilians, particularly Christian families displaced by the war. Christian leaders in Gaza have called on the international community to intervene urgently to halt what they describe as a campaign of genocide, protect the population, and safeguard holy sites under threat of destruction. Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
7 hours ago
- Days of Palestine
Euro-Med: Israel Destroys 400 Homes in Gaza City's Al-Zeitoun Neighborhood
DayofPal– The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported on Saturday that Israeli forces have destroyed approximately 400 homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of eastern Gaza City over the past six days, utilizing explosive-laden robots and airstrikes as part of a wide-scale military offensive. According to the Geneva-based organization, Israeli forces have been systematically leveling the densely populated neighborhood since August 11, in what it described as a deliberate campaign to forcibly displace civilians and assert full Israeli control over Gaza City. The rights group stated that the offensive is part of a declared Israeli plan to reoccupy Gaza gradually, beginning with Gaza City. The plan, it says, involves forcibly relocating more than a million people, including original residents and internally displaced persons from northern Gaza, into smaller, isolated areas in the south of the besieged enclave. Drones, particularly quadcopters, have reportedly been used to trap residents in housing blocks and coerce them to evacuate at gunpoint. The Israeli army is said to have advanced under heavy fire cover and positioned themselves in strategic locations behind Street 8, near the Doula intersection and the areas of Al-Bar'asi and Al-Aliyeen. More than 90,000 civilians have fled the neighborhood due to the intense bombardment, Euro-Med said, warning that nearly half of Al-Zeitoun's homes have been demolished without any clear military necessity. The report emphasized that no recent armed clashes were recorded in the area, and many homes were systematically destroyed using remote detonation after being vacated, signaling what the monitor described as a campaign to 'eradicate Palestinian life and infrastructure.' The monitor called the destruction part of a broader Israeli strategy aimed at 'completing the crime of genocide' and erasing Palestinian cities through the annihilation of residential areas and basic infrastructure. 'The attack on Al Zeitoun represents an unprecedented escalation in Israel's war on Gaza,' the report said. 'It is a calculated step in a publicly declared strategy, not a spontaneous military development, and it carries the clear intent of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.' Euro-Med urged the international community—including the United Nations and global legal institutions, to intervene urgently to stop the atrocities, protect civilians, and hold Israeli leaders accountable. The organization warned that the continuation of Israel's campaign to secure full military control over Gaza City could result in 'unprecedented massacres' and completely collapse the already devastated humanitarian response in the Strip. The report also called for the immediate enforcement of International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, stressing the importance of upholding the principle that no one is above accountability for international crimes. The escalation follows a decision by Israel's security cabinet on August 8 to approve Netanyahu's plan for the gradual reoccupation of Gaza, starting with Gaza City. The subsequent assault on Al-Zeitoun included aerial bombings, artillery fire, sniper attacks, and forced evacuations, confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses and journalists. Since October 7, 2023, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has resulted in a genocide. According to the latest figures from Gaza's Health Ministry, the death toll has reached 61,827 Palestinians, with over 155,275 injured, more than 9,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced. At least 251 people, including 108 children, have died due to famine. Despite repeated international appeals and rulings from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel continues its operations with steadfast backing from the United States and several Western allies. Euro-Med concluded its statement by calling on all states to take urgent and concrete steps to halt the genocide, protect civilians, and ensure Israel complies with international law. Shortlink for this post:
