Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that there will be no Palestinian state as he signed a key agreement advancing the controversial E1 settlement expansion project, which would bisect territory claimed by Palestinians for a future state.
"There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours," Netanyahu said during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank where thousands of new housing units would be added.
"We will safeguard our heritage, our land, and our security," he added.
The long-contested E1 plan, which would see the construction of thousands of new housing units on a tract of land east of Jerusalem, received final approval from a Defence Ministry planning commission.
Critics, including the United Nations and numerous nations, warn that this project would bisect the West Bank, severing the northern and southern parts of the territory and effectively isolating East Jerusalem. This, they argue, would make the establishment of a geographically contiguous and viable Palestinian state virtually impossible.
Netanyahu's visit to the West Bank and the remarks came just two days after Israel’s attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders in Qatar that drew widespread condemnation. The project further risks straining its ties with key allies.
Restarting the project could deepen Israel’s isolation, as several Western partners -- already frustrated by its continuation and planned escalation of the Gaza war -- have signalled they may recognise a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly.
The settlement, on a 12 sq km (4.6 sq mile) tract of land east of Jerusalem, is known as “East 1” or “E1.” It lies adjacent to Maale Adumim and had previously been frozen in 2012 and 2020 following objections from the US and European governments.
The project, which involves new roads and major infrastructure upgrades, is expected to cost nearly USD 1 billion.
All Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, based on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. The United Nations Security Council resolutions have repeatedly reaffirmed this position, saying that the settlements have no legal validity.
Israel, however, disputes this interpretation. It argues that the Fourth Geneva Convention does not apply to the West Bank because the territory was not under the sovereignty of a recognised state prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. It also asserts that the settlements are not a "transfer" of population since Israelis move there voluntarily.
The two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict envisions an independent Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, coexisting alongside Israel.
Source: India Today