Israel approves settlement project that could divide West Bank
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel gave final approval for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights groups say could destroy plans for a future Palestinian state.
Settlement 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 U.S. pressure during previous administrations.
On Wednesday, the project received final approval from the Planning and Building Committee after the last petitions against it were rejected on Aug. 6.
If the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year. The plan includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during a press conference at the site last Thursday.
Smotrich cast the approval as a riposte to western countries that announced their plans to recognize a Palestinian state in recent weeks.
'This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,' Smotrich told reporters. 'Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.'
The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between Ramallah, in the northern West Bank, and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
The two cities are 22 kilometers (14 miles) apart by air, but Palestinians traveling between them must take a wide detour and pass through multiple Israeli checkpoints, adding hours to the journey. The hope for final status negotiations for a Palestinian state was to have the region eventually serve as a direct link between the cities.
Peace Now, an organization that tracks settlement expansion in the West Bank, called the E1 project '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.'
Israel's plans to expand settlements are part of an increasingly difficult reality for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as the world's attention focuses on the war in Gaza. There have been marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
More than 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Israel's government is dominated by religious and ultranationalist politicians with close ties to the settlement movement. Smotrich, previously a firebrand settler leader and now finance minister, has been granted Cabinet-level authority over settlement policies and vowed to double the settler population in the West Bank.
Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital, which is not internationally recognized. It says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be determined through negotiations. Israel withdrew from 21 settlements Gaza in 2005.
Melanie Lidman, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Israel to mobilize 60,000 reservists ahead of an expanded Gaza City operation
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military said Wednesday that it will call up 60,000 reservists ahead of an expanded military operation in Gaza City, where many Palestinians have chosen to stay despite the danger as seeking safety seems increasingly futile amid the growing humanitarian crisis. Calling up extra military reservists is part a plan Defense Minister Israel Katz approved to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas, the military said. The plan, which is expected to receive the chief of staff's final approval in the coming days, also includes extending the service of 20,000 additional reservists who are already on active duty.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
U.S. reviewing truce deal after Hamas accepts, White House says
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration was continuing to discuss a ceasefire proposal for Gaza, and confirmed that Hamas had accepted it. Article content 'I don't think it's a coincidence that Hamas accepted this proposal after the president of the United States posted a very strong statement about this conflict on Truth Social,' Leavitt said at a press briefing at the White House. Article content Article content The talks coincide with IDF preparations for the seizure of Gaza City, seemingly with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Monday said that the remaining hostages would return only when Hamas is 'confronted and destroyed.' Article content Article content 'Three weeks ago that proposal was on the table and they slow-played us, Hamas. And the president put out his Truth statement saying that he wasn't going to tolerate it anymore and guess what happened? There's been a major break. They've issued the announcement and they've said they want a peace deal,' Witkoff said. Article content He continued: 'The president has been very decisive and straightforward in his Truth. He wants all the hostages back and that is the position that we have. We want all the hostages back. That conflict should end immediately. Twenty hostages should be returned to their families, a commensurate amount of Palestinian prisoners to be released as well, and just let's end that thing and bring peace and solitude to the Gazan people and rebuild Gaza as it should be rebuilt as the president has set forth.' Article content According to Arab media, the proposal features a partial pullout of Israeli forces from some areas of the Gaza Strip, the release of 10 out of the 20 living hostages held by Hamas and the release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel during a 60-day ceasefire. Article content Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the nation on Monday, stated that Hamas was 'under immense pressure' as the terrorist group signalled a willingness to negotiate after previously refusing several offers. Article content Article content Netanyahu also visited the IDF's Gaza Division, where he expressed his 'tremendous appreciation' for the 'great achievements' of Israel's military in the Gaza war, which he termed both a 'War of Redemption' and a 'War on Seven Fronts.' Article content The prime minister's political allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have vocally opposed any partial deal that does not secure the release of all hostages and a total defeat of Hamas.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Israel to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists for expanded Gaza operation
Israeli soldiers uses binoculars to look at damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip, from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said Wednesday that it will call up tens of thousands of reservists and extend the service of others ahead of an expanded military operation it will carry out in Gaza City. Defense Minister Israel Katz approved plans to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas, the military said. The plan, which is expected to receive the chief of staff's final approval in the coming days, includes calling up 60,000 reservists and extending the service of 20,000 others who are currently serving. In a country of fewer than 10 million people, the call-up of so many reservists carries economic and political weight, and comes just days after hundreds of thousands of Israelis rallied for a ceasefire. It also comes as negotiators scramble to get Israel and Hamas to agree to end their 22 months of fighting, and as international leaders and rights groups warn that an expanded assault could deepen the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, where most of its roughly 2 million residents have been displaced, many areas have been reduced to rubble, and the population faces the threat of famine. A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said troops will operate in parts of Gaza City where they haven't been deployed yet and where Israel believes Hamas is still active. Israeli troops in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City and Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, are already preparing the groundwork for the expanded operation. Gaza City is Hamas' military and governing stronghold, and one of the last places of refuge in the northern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering. Israeli troops will be targeting Hamas' vast underground tunnel network there, the official added. Although Israel has targeted and killed much of Hamas' senior leadership, parts of the militant group are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks, including launching rockets towards Israel, the official said. Gaza City operation could begin within days It remains unclear when the operation will begin, but it could be a matter of days and the mobilization of reservists would be the largest in months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war's objectives are to secure the release of remaining hostages and ensure that Hamas and other militants can never again threaten Israel. The planned offensive, which was announced earlier this month, comes amid heightened international condemnation of Israel's restrictions on food and medicine reaching Gaza and fears of another mass displacement among Palestinians. Associated Press journalists saw small groups heading south from the city this week, but it's unclear how many others will voluntarily flee. Some said they would wait to see how events unfold before moving yet again, with many insisting that nowhere is safe from airstrikes. 'What we're seeing in Gaza is nothing short of apocalyptic reality for children, for their families, and for this generation,' Ahmed Alhendawi, regional director of Save the Children, said in an interview. 'The plight and the struggle of this generation of Gaza is beyond being described in words.' Exhausted reservists question war's goals The call-up comes as a growing campaign of exhausted reservists accuses the government of perpetuating the war for political reasons and failing to bring home the 50 remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The hostages' families and former army and intelligence chiefs have also expressed opposition to the expanded operation in Gaza City. Most of the families want an immediate ceasefire and worry that an expanded assault could imperil securing the hostages' release. Guy Poran, a retired air force pilot who has organized veterans campaigning to end the war, said many reservists are exhausted after repeated tours lasting hundreds of days and resentful of those who haven't been called up at all. Most now just want to return to their lives. 'Even those that are not ideologically against the current war or the government's new plans don't want to go because of fatigue or their families or their businesses,' he said. Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel still to respond to ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas Arab mediators and Hamas said this week that the militant group's leaders had agreed to the terms of a proposed ceasefire, though similar announcements have been made in the past that didn't lead to a lasting truce. Egypt and Qatar have said they have been waiting for Israel's response to the proposal. 'The ball is now in Israel's court,' Egyptian Foreign Minister Bader Abdelattay said Tuesday. An Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said Israel is in constant contact with the mediators in an effort to secure the hostages' release. Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will oppose a deal that doesn't include the 'complete defeat of Hamas.' More than 62,122 people have been killed during Israel's offensive, Gaza's Health Ministry said Monday. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants, but it said women and children make up around half of them. In addition to that toll, 154 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when the ministry began counting such deaths, and 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began. Far-right Israeli minister shares more prison footage Israel's far-right national security minister on Wednesday released footage of Israeli prisons showing Palestinian inmates images of Gaza's destruction. A video posted on Telegram by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shows him pointing to an image of Palestinians walking amid rubble and half-collapsed buildings, saying they were being shown to security prisoners. 'So they understand that the people of Israel are not messing around,' he wrote. Ben-Gvir's prison visit comes amid a string of provocative moves. It's less than a week after he published a video of himself admonishing an imprisoned Palestinian leader in a face-to-face meeting inside a prison, saying Israel will confront anyone who acts against the country and 'wipe them out.' Earlier this month, he visited and prayed at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, triggering regional condemnation and fears that the provocative move could further escalate tensions. Netanyahu's government depends on backing from the far right, which opposes negotiations for a phased ceasefire in Gaza. Ben-Gvir said Monday that Netanyahu didn't have a mandate to pursue such a truce. The far-right bloc nabbed a victory on Wednesday when Israel gave final approval for a controversial settlement project east of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. The development in what's called E1 would effectively cut the territory in two, and Palestinians and rights groups say it could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state. Israel says it killed Hamas militant involved in abduction of father whose family was taken hostage Israel's military said Wednesday that it killed a Hamas militant who stormed a kibbutz and abducted Yarden Bibas, a father of three whose wife and two young children were also kidnapped on Oct. 7. The Bibas family became one of Israel's most closely followed hostage cases after body-camera footage of the mother and her young children being abducted was circulated widely in Israel and abroad. The three were later killed during the war, while Yarden Bibas was released. In a statement, Bibas called the killing of his alleged kidnapper 'a small part of my closure' and said he was still awaiting the return of hostages held in Gaza. ---- By Melanie Lidman, Sam Metz And Samy Magdy Lidman and Magdy reported from Tel Aviv, Israel and Cairo.
