Israel Greenlights Controversial Expansion of West Bank Settlements

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Key Points

Despite widespread international objections, Israel has greenlit a controversial settlement plan in the West Bank.
Opponents argue that the plan jeopardizes the feasibility of a two-state solution and contravenes international law.
The Israeli minister who unveiled the plan admitted it would effectively nullify the prospect of a Palestinian state.

On Wednesday, a highly criticized Israeli settlement initiative, cutting across lands intended for a Palestinian state, was formally approved, revealed Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The E1 project’s endorsement, intended to divide the occupied West Bank and sever it from East Jerusalem, was announced by Smotrich last week and just attained an ultimate approval from a defense ministry planning body on Wednesday, he confirmed.

“We are finally fulfilling long-standing promises with E1,” stated Smotrich, a key figure in the ultra-nationalist faction of the ruling coalition. “Actions are speaking louder than words—efforts for a Palestinian state are being phased out.”

Reviving this project may further estrange Israel, especially as some of its Western supporters, frustrated by its ongoing initiatives and expansion in Gaza, suggest they might acknowledge a Palestinian state in the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session in September.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said: “We condemn the decision taken today on expanding this particular settlement, which … will drive a stake through the heart of the two-state solution.”

“We call on the government of Israel to halt all settlement activity,” he said.

The Palestinian foreign ministry also condemned the announcement, saying the E1 settlement would isolate Palestinian communities living in the area and undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.

British foreign minister David Lammy said on X: “If implemented, it would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution.”

A German government representative remarked that such settlement expansions breach international law and obstruct the path to a negotiated two-state solution and the cessation of Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the E1 announcement.

However on Sunday, during a visit to Ofra, another West Bank settlement established a quarter of a century ago, he made broader comments, saying: “I said 25 years ago that we will do everything to secure our grip on the land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to prevent the attempts to uproot us from here. Thank God, what I promised, we have delivered.”

The longstanding solution to the Israeli-Palestinian discord envisions both a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, coexisting peacefully with Israel.

Western capitals and campaign groups have opposed the settlement project due to concerns that it could undermine a future peace deal with the Palestinians.

The plan for E1, located adjacent to Maale Adumim and frozen in 2012 and 2020 amid objections from the US and European governments, involves the construction of about 3,400 new housing units.

According to Peace Now, an Israeli organization monitoring settlement activities, infrastructure work may begin soon, with housing construction likely to start within a year.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.

Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area and saying the settlements provide strategic depth and security.