
Israeli far-right minister aims to 'bury idea of Palestinian state' with approval of E1 settlements
'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,' Mr Smotrich said.
Mr Smotrich has a pattern of announcing settlements when the momentum towards Palestinian statehood builds. Most recently, Australia joined announcements by France, the UK and Canada to recognise Palestine as a state in September.
E1 would fall between the Palestinian village of Al Zaim and the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, one of the biggest in the occupied West Bank. It would deal a devastating blow to a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
E1 would expand the separation barrier that cuts the city off from the occupied West Bank, undermining sovereignty, freedom of movement and the economy of a future Palestine.
The project has been frozen for decades due to condemnation by the international community.
'After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem,' Mr Smotrich said. 'This is Zionism at its best – building, settling, and strengthening our sovereignty in the land of Israel.'
Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors the development of settlements, calls E1 'particularly devastating for the prospects of peace and the future of a two-state solution, as it would cut the West Bank in two and prevent the development of the metropolitan area between Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem'.
There would be less space for Palestinians to build in an area where there is a shortage of homes and classrooms.
'The Israeli government is openly announcing apartheid,' said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at NGO Ir Amim. 'It explicitly states that the E1 plans were approved to 'bury' the two-state solution and to entrench de facto sovereignty.
'States now working to recognise a Palestinian state should understand that Israel is undeterred by diplomatic gestures or condemnations. If they are serious about the prospect of peace, they must take concrete action.'
The idea for E1 originated in the 1990s and reflects the long-term Israeli desire to expand settlements despite international objections. A more specific purpose of E1 is to connect Ma'ale Adumim, currently separated from the outskirts of East Jerusalem, with the city.
Significant international opposition, including from the US, proved effective in blocking it, even as settlement expansion continued elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.
Since the Israel-Gaza war broke out on October 7, 2023, the wider settlement project has been in the ascendancy, including E1. Record numbers of Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli settlers who have access to more arms and enjoy greater impunity than before from the government and authorities.
On Wednesday, an Israeli settler shot and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a string of attacks by the Israeli army and settlers.
Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's army and its settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, UN figures have said.
Israel last year launched operation Iron Wall in the north of the occupied West Bank where more than 30,000 Palestinians remain forcibly displaced. Israeli forces have fired at people attempting to return home, the UN has said.
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