Israel’s far-right finance minister has announced plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
Palestinians and rights groups said the settlement would effectively cut the West Bank into two separate parts and rob them of any chance to build a Palestinian state.
This comes as several countries, including the UK, said they would recognise a Palestinian state in September, unless Israel meets several conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich shows the settlement scheme on a map. Pic: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise,” finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said as he announced the construction plans.
“Anyone in the world who tries today to recognise a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.”
The settlement is planned to be built in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, and includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the existing settlement of Maale Adumim, Mr Smotrich said.
E1 has been eyed for Israeli development for more than two decades, but plans were halted due to pressure from the US during previous administrations.
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A view of part of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim. Pic: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
Now-US President Donald Trump and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, were praised on Thursday by Mr Smotrich as “true friends of Israel as we have never had before”.
Mr Smotrich, himself a Jewish settler, told Sky News’ international correspondent Diana Magnay that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme. There was no confirmation of this claim from either leader.
The E1 plan has not yet received its final approval, which is expected next week.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the UK strongly opposes the plan, calling it a “flagrant breach of international law and must be stopped now”.
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Construction of homes ‘within a year’
Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank, said some bureaucratic steps remain before construction could begin, including the approval of Israel’s high planning council.
But if the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could start in the next few months, with the construction of homes to follow in about a year.
“The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed,” Peace Now said in a statement.
It added that the plan was “guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed”.
Palestinians inspect a facility damaged during an Israeli raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pic: Reuters/Raneen Sawafta
Burnt cars are seen after an attack by Israeli settlers near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pic: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Mr Smotrich was also criticised by an Israeli rights group established by former Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers, who accused the far-right politician of encouraging West Bank settlement activity while the world’s attention was on the Gaza war.
As well as official, government-approved settlements, there are also Israeli outposts, which are established without government approval and are considered illegal by Israeli authorities.
But reports suggest the government often turns a blind eye to their creation.
Israeli heavy machinery demolishes a Palestinian building near Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pic: Reuters/Mussa Qawasma
In May, Mr Netanyahu’s government approved 22 new settlements, including the legalisation of outposts that had previously been built without authorisation.
Since the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent military bombardment of Gaza, more than 100 Israeli outposts have been established, according to Peace Now.
Settler violence against Palestinians has also increased, according to the UN, with an average of 118 incidents each month – up from 108 in 2023, which was already a record year.
Smotrich’s dreams of West Bank annexation never been closer to reality
Bezalel Smotrich is pumped. His dreams of resettlement and annexation of the West Bank have never been closer to fruition.Â
The E1 settlement plan, which would cut the West Bank from East Jerusalem, was first conceived back in 1995 by then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Thirty years later, the extremist settler contingent within the government seems to be on the verge of making it a reality.
The prime minister’s office has yet to confirm Benjamin Netanyahu’s backing, but according to Smotrich, both he and President Trump are on board.
E1 (or T1 as they say they will call it, in honour of Donald Trump) would be another symbolic blow to the very notion of Palestinian statehood, as is every settlement and piece of related infrastructure which Israel builds in the occupied West Bank.
At a time when the UK, France and others all say they will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel pushes for a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu’s government is doubling down.
Per Smotrich, their response will come through roads, buildings, neighbourhoods, the spread of Jewish life across Palestinian lands in the West Bank – the creation of facts on the ground.Â
The UK, France and many others in the international community may not like it, but the real power-broker here, certainly as far as Netanyahu is concerned, is Donald Trump.
He is the president who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem; his ambassador has said there is no such thing as the West Bank.
For the likes of Smotrich, that is all the encouragement they need.
Plans criticised as ‘extension of genocide’
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the settlement plan an extension of the crimes of genocide, displacement and annexation. Israel has long disputed accusations of genocide and rights abuses, saying it is acting in self-defence.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the Palestinian president’s spokesperson, called on the US to pressure Israel to stop the building of settlements.
Hamas said the plan was part of Israel’s “colonial, extremist” policies and called on Palestinians to confront it.
Qatar, which has been acting as a mediator between Hamas and Israel in a bid to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, said the move was a flagrant violation of international law.
“The EU rejects any territorial change that is not part of a political agreement between involved parties. So annexation of territory is illegal under international law,” European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.
Today, an estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. There is also a growing movement of Israelis wanting to build settlements in Gaza.
Settlers make up around 5% of Israel’s population and 15% of the West Bank’s population, according to data from Peace Now.
Settlements are illegal under international law and have been condemned by the UN. They are, however, authorised by the Israeli government.
Israeli troops stand guard during a weekly settlers’ tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pic: Reuters/Mussa Qawasma
According to the Israel Policy Forum, the settlement programme is intended to protect Israel’s security, with settlers acting as the first line of defence “against an invasion”.
Mr Smotrich’s settlement announcement comes after the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on Mr Smotrich and his fellow far-right cabinet member, Itamar Ben-Gvir, for “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians” in the West Bank.
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Stuart Ramsay on West Bank settlers
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in June that the ministers had been “encouraging egregious abuses of human rights” for “months”.
Last year, Mr Smotrich, whose National Religious Party largely draws its support from settlers, ordered preparations for the annexation of the West Bank.
His popularity has fallen in recent months, with polls showing that his party would not win a single seat in parliament in elections were held today.
