Israel approves settlement project that could split West Bank in two

2025-08-20 14:08:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israel has given final approval to a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively split Palestinian territory in two. The project, Palestinians and rights groups say, could extinguish hopes for a future Palestinian state.

Settlement development in E1, an open expanse of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but the project was shelved due to pressure from the United States during previous administrations. The international community widely considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - a former settler leader - said the plan's approval was a response to Western states that have announced in recent weeks that they plan to recognize a Palestinian state.

"The Palestinian state is being removed from the table not with slogans, but with actions," he said. "Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is a nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of creating a Palestinian state and has vowed to maintain control indefinitely over the occupied West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – where it is waging war – territories that Israel captured during the 1967 war, places where Palestinians want to create their own state in the future.

More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The location of E1 is important because it is one of the last geographical connections between the major cities of the West Bank, Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south.

The distance between these two cities is 22 kilometers, but Palestinians traveling between them must make many detours and pass through several Israeli checkpoints, making the journey take several hours.

"The settlement in E1 has no other purpose than to sabotage a political solution," said Peace Now, an organization that documents the expansion of settler settlements.

"While there is consensus among our friends around the world who want peace and a two-state solution, the Israeli government is undermining the national interest and we are all paying the price for it."

If the process moves quickly, the infrastructural construction of the settlement in E1 could begin within months and the construction of houses could begin within a year.

The plan includes about 3,500 homes that will be adjacent to the existing settlement in Male Adumim./ Rel