AN ISRAELI minister has said he will approve illegal settlement plans to build more than 3000 homes in the West Bank in order to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved the so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, which has been frozen amid fierce opposition internationally and within Israel.
The plan would effectively cut off the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem.
Smotrich said: "The plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state.
"After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Maale Adumim to Jerusalem. This is Zionism at its best – building, settling, and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel."
Settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Israeli NGO Ir Amim who has submitted formal objections to the plan, said the Israeli government is “openly announcing apartheid”.
“It explicitly states that the E1 plans were approved to ‘bury’ the two-state solution and to entrench de facto sovereignty,” he said.
“An immediate consequence could be the uprooting of more than a dozen Palestinian communities living in the E1 area. Indeed, over the last 10 days, Israeli authorities have issued dozens of demolition orders there.
“States now working to recognise a Palestinian state should understand that Israel is undeterred by diplomatic gestures or condemnations. If they are serious about the prospect of peace, they must take concrete action.”
The E1 plan has not yet received final approval, which is expected next week.
