'Knockout blow' to Palestinian statehood: Israel advances settlement plan to split West Bank
Iran Press TV
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 5:45 PM
Israel has given final approval for an illegal settlement project in the West Bank that would effectively cut the occupied territory in two and could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.
In a meeting on Wednesday, an Israeli settlement committee approved the so-called E1 project, which includes the building of around 3,500 settler units between al-Quds and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank.
The project aims to split the occupied West Bank into two parts, cutting off the northern cities of Ramallah and Nablus from Bethlehem and al-Khalil in the south, and isolating East al-Quds.
Hawkish far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed the decision as a significant step to consolidate Israel's hold on the occupied Palestinian lands.
"The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions," Smotrich, a settler himself, said on Wednesday.
"Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea."
Peace Now, an Israeli organization that tracks settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, has described the project as a "knockout blow" to the two-state solution, warning that it would bisect the West Bank and further isolate East al-Quds.
"The settlement in E1 has no purpose other than to sabotage a political solution," the organization said.
"While the consensus among our friends in the world is to strive for peace and a two-state solution, a government that long ago lost the people's trust is undermining the Israeli interest, and we are all paying the price," Peace Now stated.
Last week, Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group, called the plan a land grab, which "will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid."
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli entity and has declared to maintain open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, annexed East al-Quds, and Gaza.
Observers say the renewed push for the settlement project appears to be a response to recent announcements by some countries, including the UK, France, and Australia, to recognize Palestinian statehood during the UN General Assembly meetings in September.
According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, a settlement subcommittee during the Wednesday meeting also advanced a plan for building 342 more units in the Asahel settlement between east and west Mount al-Khalil.
Despite international condemnation and growing calls for a halt to settlement activity, the Israeli expansion shows no signs of slowing down. These settlements are illegal under international law and pose a significant obstacle to negotiations.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel's decades-long occupation of historical Palestine illegal.
The ICJ demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.
On August 8, Israel's war cabinet approved a military blueprint to capture Gaza City and tighten its grip on the besieged strip, which has been relentlessly bombarded since the genocidal war began on October 7, 2023.
In the last 22 months, the Israeli regime has murdered nearly 62,122 Palestinians and wounded 156,758, most of them children and women.
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