Expanding contentious settlement scheme, Israel intends to sabotage the notion of a Palestinian nation
In a move that has sparked international condemnation, Israel's government has approved the construction of 3,400 new housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank. This decision aims to expand the Maale Adumim settlement, potentially dividing the West Bank into two separate parts.
The E1 area, strategically important due to its link between the northern West Bank city of Ramallah and Bethlehem in the south, has long been seen as a major obstacle to the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state. The new construction would exacerbate existing mobility limitations imposed by Israeli authorities in settlements, further restricting Palestinian movement between these areas.
The plan has faced strong criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations, who have raised concerns about displacement of local Bedouin communities in the area. Internationally, several European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, have threatened to recognize Palestinian statehood during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly meetings if Israel does not engage in steps towards peace and a ceasefire.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the pending approval of these new housing units on Thursday. Smotrich, who has been lobbying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the occupied West Bank and apply Israeli sovereignty to the entire territory, has stated that the construction would permanently bury the idea of a Palestinian state.
The E1 settlement project, if approved, would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state by splitting the West Bank in half. The plan, which has been frozen for decades due to international opposition, aims to connect Jerusalem to the settlement of Maale Adumim.
Peace Now, an Israeli settlement watchdog, has blasted the advancement of the E1 plan, deeming it "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution." The organization believes that there is a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the terrible war in Gaza - the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
This decision comes at a time when Israel's settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. However, the Biden administration has left the policy of the first Trump administration in place, which ruled settlements were "not inconsistent" with international law.
The Israeli government's annexation moves are taking the country further away from the solution of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel, according to Peace Now. The Palestinian National Council has criticized the new settlement plans as a "systemic plan to steal land, Judaize it, and impose biblical and Talmudic facts on the conflict."
As the international community watches, the final approval for the E1 settlement project is expected next week. The drone view of Neve Daniel, a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing conflict and the potential consequences of this controversial decision.
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