Israel has finally approved a highly controversial project of building a settlement that would divide the occupied West Bank and isolate East Jerusalem.
The Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration, a department under the Israeli Ministry of Defense, approved the so-called E1 project, which includes the construction of more than 3.400 homes for settlers between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported.
The goal of the project is to divide the occupied West Bank into two parts, separate the northern cities of Ramallah and Nablus from Bethlehem and Hebron in the south, and isolate East Jerusalem.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called it “historic.”
“This is a significant step that practically erases the illusion of two states and strengthens the influence of the Jewish people on the heart of the Land of Israel,” he said.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans, but with deeds. Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea,” he added.
Israeli media reported that the Subcommittee for Settlement of the Civil Administration also advanced a plan for the construction of another 342 housing units in the Asahel settlement between the eastern and western parts of Mount Hebron.
Peace Now, an Israeli human rights group, described the E1 settlement project as a “knockout blow” to the two-state solution, warning that it would split the West Bank in half and further isolate East Jerusalem.
Observers say that the renewed push for the project appears as a response to recent announcements by countries, including the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Australia, that they intend to recognize Palestinian statehood during the United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting in September.
The international community, including the UN, considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continuous settlement expansion threatens the viability of the two-state solution, the framework considered key for resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to the Palestinian Commission for Colonization and the Wall Resistance, since 1967, Israel has built at least 710 settlements and military outposts in the occupied West Bank, on average, one settlement for every eight square kilometers.
Palestinians emphasize that East Jerusalem remains the capital of their future state, referring to international resolutions that reject the Israeli occupation of the city since 1967 and the subsequent annexation of the city in 1980.
Since the beginning of the Israeli war in Gaza in October 2023, at least 1.014 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 7.000 wounded in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
According to an advisory opinion in July last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
Photo: CBC Video/screenshot
