Israel PM Netanyahu approves controversial Gaza settlement plan

The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has officially advanced a contentious settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, a move that critics warn will render a future Palestinian state geographically impossible. The plan, known as “E1,” received its final approval from the Prime Minister on Thursday.

The E1 project authorizes the construction of 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers in Maale Adumim, a settlement located on a strategic 12-square-kilometer tract of land just east of Jerusalem.

The development is designed to bisect the West Bank, severing its northern and southern regions and cutting off occupied East Jerusalem, the intended capital of a future Palestinian state, from its Palestinian hinterland.

At a signing event, Prime Minister Netanyahu explicitly linked the project to his long-standing opposition to Palestinian statehood. “We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us,” he stated, adding that the goal was to “double the city’s population.”

The decision has triggered swift and forceful condemnation from Palestinian leaders and the international community. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority presidency, decried the move as a violation of international law, accusing Netanyahu of “pushing the entire region towards the abyss.” He reaffirmed that a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine remains “inevitable.”

Internationally, the backlash has been significant. Twenty-one countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, have condemned the plan. Germany announced it would support a French-led United Nations resolution endorsing a two-state solution, while nations like France, Belgium, and Malta have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state formally. The move also defies a July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which declared Israeli settlements illegal and demanded their immediate cessation.

This political escalation unfolds against a backdrop of rising violence, including a deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem on Monday and subsequent Israeli military raids in the West Bank, deepening fears of further instability across the region.

It is worth noting that Israel recently bombed a building in Doha, Qatar, to kill Hamas leaders, a move that has led to condemnation from all parts of the world towards Israel.