JERUSALEM / PNN /  

In a move widely seen as a challenge to the international community and the two-state solution, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans for a settlement in the E1 area, a strategic zone that would separate East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank. His office described the initiative as effectively ending the prospect of a Palestinian state.

Speaking at a Thursday press conference, Smotrich stated that “resettling Gaza is a condition for victory in the war,” adding that it would “finally collapse the idea of a Palestinian state.”

He further urged the Israeli government to “impose full Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank,” noting that all ongoing actions are “coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and fully supported by the U.S. administration.”

Smotrich stressed the need for a decisive outcome in Gaza, calling for Hamas to be defeated in its remaining strongholds. He said the recovery of hostages must occur “in one go, not through partial deals.”

He described the Netanyahu government as “effective and achieving major accomplishments,” and warned that “any support for the establishment of a Palestinian state is equivalent to Israel committing suicide.”

The minister announced that plans to expand the Ma’ale Adumim settlement would begin next Wednesday, describing approval of the Gaza occupation as “a critical step” that must not be halted midway. He also unveiled a program linking Ma’ale Adumim directly with Jerusalem, calling it a strategic project that solidifies Israeli control over the West Bank after what he termed a “20-year delay.”

Smotrich argued that a Palestinian state poses an “existential threat to Israel, the only Jewish state in the world,” adding that the West Bank is “part of the Land of Israel by divine promise,” with Netanyahu backing this approach.

He also revealed plans to confiscate thousands of dunams of Palestinian land and invest billions of shekels to settle one million new Israelis in the West Bank as part of what he called “continuous Jewish construction to eliminate the Palestinian state dream.”

“The future is determined not by outsiders, but by what Jews do on the land of Israel,” Smotrich declared.

Israel had previously halted construction plans in E1 in 2012 following objections from the United States, European allies, and other global powers, who viewed the project as a threat to any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.

The E1 area, near the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, is strategically important because it separates the northern and southern parts of the West Bank.

Israel recently issued six tenders for construction and expansion in the settlements of Ariel, in the Salfit governorate, and Ma’ale Adumim, in the Jerusalem governorate, for a total of 4,000 new housing units.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority, three tenders are for expanding Ariel West with 730 units, and three others target the expansion of Ma’ale Adumim. The largest, tender 320/2025, aims to build 2,902 new units.

The Authority noted that the Ma’ale Adumim plans were approved in July, while the Ariel plans received approval in May. This acceleration in issuing tenders has raised questions about Israel’s “race against time” strategy to establish new facts on the ground in Palestinian territories.

The Authority also highlighted that maps attached to the Ariel West tender indicate a site more than two kilometers from the existing settlement, signaling Israel’s intention to establish a new settlement without public announcement.