By Associated Press’s OHAD ZWIGENBERG and MELANIE LIDMAN
West Bank, MAALE ADUMIM (AP) The construction of controversial new settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was approved Thursday by Israel’s far-right finance minister. Palestinians and rights organizations fear that this could thwart aspirations for a Palestinian state by essentially dividing the region in two.
With final clearance anticipated later this month, the development might impede Palestinian statehood efforts, bragged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. It happened when a number of nations, including Canada, France, Britain, and Australia, announced that they would recognize a Palestinian state in September.
Since it is one of the final geographical connections between the major West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah, the construction on the E1 piece of land east of Jerusalem has been considered for more than 20 years and is particularly contentious.
By air, the two cities are separated by 14 miles. However, Palestinians would have to drive several miles out of their way and go through several checkpoints once an Israeli settlement is finished.
Smotrich stated during a ceremony on Thursday that this reality ultimately buryed the idea of a Palestinian state because there is nothing and no one to recognize. We on the ground will respond to anyone in the world who attempts to recognize a Palestinian state today, he declared.
Although he has previously praised the initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not publicly address it on Thursday.
The United States’ pressure during earlier administrations was a major factor in the prolonged halt in E1 development. Smotrich hailed U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and President Donald Trump on Thursday as “true friends of Israel as we have never had before.”
On August 20, the E1 plan is anticipated to be finally approved, ending two decades of bureaucratic haggling. On August 6, all of the requests submitted by activists and rights organizations to halt the building were denied by the planning committee. Although there are still some bureaucratic procedures to complete, if the process proceeds swiftly, infrastructure development may commence in the coming months and home building may begin within a year.
Ahmed al Deek, the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister’s political adviser, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the decision is a racist, colonial, and expansionist move.
According to al Deek, it is part of the radical Israeli government’s objectives to split the West Bank and divide its southern region from the center and the north, as well as to thwart any chance of a Palestinian state being established on the ground.
Rights organizations quickly denounced the move as well. According to Peace Now, it is fatal for Israel’s future and any possibility of reaching a peaceful two-state solution, ensuring many more years of violence.
The announcement coincides with the Arab and Palestinian Authority denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Tuesday interview in which he expressed his strong attachment to the idea of a Greater Israel. Although he did not go into detail, proponents of the proposal contend that Israel ought to rule over portions of Arab nations in addition to the occupied West Bank.
With the world’s emphasis on Gaza, Israel’s intentions to develop settlements are part of a reality that is becoming more and more difficult for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Checkpoints that restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement, evictions from Palestinian villages, and Israeli violence against Palestinians have all significantly increased. Over the course of the conflict, Israelis have also been the target of multiple Palestinian attacks.
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The occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel took in 1967 and that the Palestinians want to establish as a future state, are currently home to almost 700,000 Israelis. The majority of the international world believes that Israeli settlement development in these areas is unlawful and a hindrance to peace.
Religious and ultranationalist lawmakers with strong connections to the settlement movement control Israel’s government. Formerly a fierce settler leader, Finance Minister Smotrich has been given cabinet-level control over settlement programs and has pledged to quadruple the number of West Bank settlers.
During the 1967 Mideast War, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem, and the West Bank. All three areas are claimed by the Palestinians for their future independent state.
Although it is not recognized internationally, Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital. It claims that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and that the West Bank is contested territory whose future should be decided through negotiations.
