4 days ago
Israel to approve settlement plan ‘that thwarts Palestinian state'
Israel is expected to approve the construction of settlements on land that would divide the West Bank and East Jerusalem, effectively blocking chances of a contiguous future Palestinian state.
One of the two leading extremists and settler figureheads in Israel's government, Bezalel Smotrich, approved plans to build 3,401 houses in an area known as the E1 corridor. The land is home to a large number of Bedouin communities and borders East Jerusalem beyond the Green line, inside the West Bank. The construction would connect Jerusalem to the existing Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, located several miles eastwards.
Israel is expected to approve the plan as early as next week.
Construction on the E1 area had been frozen for years under international pressure. The land is seen as highly sensitive because of its location and ability to split the West Bank between the north and south. The settlement would also lead to the forced eviction of the Bedouin residents, who have lived under threat of eviction order, demolitions and a lack of access to essential services for decades.
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But the settler movement has been emboldened by its power in government and the ongoing war in Gaza, where it seeks to rebuild Jewish communities. It is also reacting to announcements by allies, including the UK, France, Australia and others that they will unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state next month.
Smotrich, whose spokesman announced the plan under the title 'Burying the idea of a Palestinian state', has been sanctioned by several western countries for incitement of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including the UK.
'Those around the world trying to recognise a Palestinian state will get our answer on the ground,' Smotrich, the finance minister, said. 'Not in any documents, not in decisions or declarations, but in facts. Facts of homes, neighbourhoods, roads and Jewish families building their lives.'
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While Smotrich is charged with the finance ministry, he is also active within the defence ministry and has authority to approve settlements in the West Bank. He has approved thousands of new housing units, dozens of new outposts and huge swathes of land in the Jordan Valley, overseeing the largest takeover of land since the Oslo Accords.
'They'll keep talking about a Palestinian dream, and we'll keep on building a Jewish reality,' he added. 'A reality that buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there's nothing to recognise and no one to recognise it.'
At the time of publication, Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, had not commented on the plan. However, he has in the past approved the building of housing units in the E1 area — including a move in 2020 to build more than 3,000 new units that was halted under American pressure.
