By the Associated Press’s Melanie Lidman
Israel’s Tel Aviv (AP) A contentious settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would essentially divide the region in two was approved by Israel on Wednesday. Palestinians and rights organizations warn the proposal might dash aspirations for a future Palestinian state.
E1, an open area east of Jerusalem, has been considering settlement construction for more than 20 years, but it was put on hold during earlier administrations because of pressure from the United States. The majority of the international community believes that Israeli settlement development in the West Bank is unlawful and a barrier to peace.
Former settlement leader and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich interpreted the approval as a jab at Western nations that in recent weeks declared their intention to recognize a Palestinian state.
He stated on Wednesday that deeds, not just statements, are erasing the Palestinian state from the table. Every community, housing unit, and colony serves as another nail in the coffin of this perilous notion.
In addition to rejecting the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to retain unrestricted authority over the occupied West Bank, the annexed east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, which Israel seized in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians desire for their state.
As the world’s emphasis shifts to the war in Gaza, Israel’s settlement building is a part of the increasingly grave situation for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israeli military operations, roadblocks that restrict freedom of movement, evictions from Palestinian villages, attacks by settlers on Palestinians, and many Palestinian attacks on Israelis have all increased significantly.
Today, the West Bank and east Jerusalem are home to almost 700,000 Israeli settlers.
Being one of the final geographic connections between the two main West Bank cities of Bethlehem in the south and Ramallah in the north, E1’s location is noteworthy.
Palestinians must take a lengthy detour and pass through numerous Israeli checkpoints on their way between the two cities, which are 22 kilometers (14 miles) apart. The trip takes hours. It was hoped that the area would act as a direct conduit connecting the cities in a future Palestinian state.
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According to Peace Now, a group that monitors settlement growth in the West Bank, the community in E1 has no other function but to thwart a political resolution. Even though our international friends agree that peace and a two-state solution are the best course of action, a government that has long since lost the trust of the populace is undermining the interests of the country, and we are all suffering as a result.
If everything proceeds as planned, housing construction may commence in about a year and infrastructure development in E1 might start in the coming months. About 3,500 apartments that would border the current Maale Adumim settlement are part of the plan. During the same conference, Smotrich also celebrated the approval of 350 homes for the Ashael village near Hebron.
Smotrich and other religious and ultranationalist lawmakers with strong connections to the settlement movement control Israel’s government. The finance minister promised to treble the number of settlers in the West Bank and was given Cabinet-level control over settlement programs.
