Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday that a plan to build more than 3,000 homes in a long-delayed settlement project in the occupied West Bank would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The project, known as E1, is located between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement and has been frozen for decades due to international opposition. Critics say construction there would sever the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem, a territory Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.
Smotrich argued the project would prevent Palestinian statehood, insisting “there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise.” He described the plan as “Zionism at its best — building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel.”
Settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are widely considered illegal under international law. Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in about 160 settlements across the territories, according to the anti-settlement group Peace Now.
The announcement comes as several countries, including the UK and France, signal their intention to recognise a Palestinian state in the coming months. Smotrich dismissed the moves, telling the BBC, “It’s not going to happen. There will be no state to recognise.”
International reaction was swift. The United States said a stable West Bank was vital to Israel’s security and regional peace, while the United Nations and the European Union urged Israel not to move forward. UK Foreign Minister David Lammy called the proposal “a flagrant breach of international law,” and Germany said it “strongly rejects” the plan. Turkey also condemned the decision, saying it disregards Palestinian territorial integrity.
Peace Now accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of deepening annexation efforts, warning that settlement expansion would block any two-state solution. The Palestinian foreign ministry denounced the plan as part of “genocide, displacement, and annexation.”
The E1 project involves 3,401 housing units and has been frozen for two decades, as its development is seen as a decisive barrier to Palestinian statehood by dividing the West Bank into disconnected areas.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, restrictions and pressure on Palestinians in the West Bank have intensified, with Israeli officials justifying the measures as security-related. Most of the international community maintains that settlements are illegal under international law, a position reinforced by a 2023 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
