Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has greenlighted the plan which enables the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. Experts suggest this move is carried out to block the creation of a Palestinian state in the future. Israeli authorities would be able to plan settlements in East 1/E1, a portion of land measuring 12-square-kilometers in east of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu signed the agreement on Thursday in Maale Adumim, a settlement just east of Jerusalem, saying, “We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us.” He also added that the plan will double the city’s population.
At Least 3,400 New Homes Would Be Constructed in Illegal Settlement of West Bank
The plan includes 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers and would split the West Bank. It would connect many Israeli settlements but separate much of the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, making it very important.
All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has controlled since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, even if Israel approves them.
Experts say the E1 expansion is very controversial because it would break the connection between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This would make it much harder to create a Palestinian state.
Palestinian Authority spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on Thursday that a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is essential for peace. He described the two-state solution as “inevitable,” despite Netanyahu’s move, and condemned Israeli settlements as illegal under international law. Rudeineh also called on countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to do so immediately, noting that 149 UN member states already have.
Benjamin Netanyahu: Will Never Allow Formation of Palestinian State
Netanyahu has long supported settlements and opposed peace efforts between Israel and Palestine. He openly criticized the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, which aimed to create a Palestinian state, and in 2001 was caught on video saying he had effectively ended them. During his first term as prime minister in 1997, he had helped establish the settlement of Har Homa in East Jerusalem.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has also supported E1 and other settlements, saying they will help erase Palestine from the map. He argued that with these expansions, “there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise,” even as Palestinian statehood gains recognition from more UN member states.
