The Finance Minister of Israel, the ultranationalist Bezalel Smotrich, announced a plan to build more than 3,000 new homes as part of the controversial urban development plan that aims to connect East Jerusalem with the Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank, stating that the move “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”
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If they continue with their project, the expansion of the settlement located east of Jerusalem, which is considered illegal by the international community, would cut off the territorial unity between Ramallah and Bethlehem, two of the main Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
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According to The Times of Israel, the project has been frozen for decades due to staunch opposition from the international community, including the United States, which fears that the settlement will hinder the establishment of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state.
Why does Israel want to expand this settlement?
According to the far-rightist Smotrich at a press conference this Thursday in Ma’ale Adumim, he commented that while he has major differences with Benjamin Netanyahu over the war with Hamas, "‘in the West Bank he lets me do everything’, according to the English version of Yedioth Ahronoth. “Judea and Samaria are an inseparable part of our land,” the minister said using the biblical name for the West Bank.
“The approval of the construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian State and continues the numerous actions we are promoting on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan initiated with the formation of the Government,” stated the Minister of Finance in statements collected by the state news agency.
The goal is to build 3,515 additional housing units in the Tzipor Midbar neighborhood in Ma’ale Adumim, bringing the total to 6,916 units exclusively for Jews and potentially attracting 35,000 new residents.
According to Smotrich, “after decades of international pressure, we are breaking conventions and connecting Ma’ale Adumim with Jerusalem... This is Zionism in its fullest expression: building, settling, and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel.”
The decision by the Israeli government comes amid announcements by Western powers, such as France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, to recognize Palestine as a state and advance towards a two-state solution.
“Those who try to recognize a Palestinian state will receive a response from us on the ground, not in documents or statements, but in facts: homes, neighborhoods, roads, and more Jewish families building their lives,” said Smotrich.
Palestine calls for international help
After Bezalel Smotrich’s announcement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority requested the international community to intervene to stop the settlement expansion plans and described the announcement as an “extension of the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation” by Israel.
The statement said that these new tenders are “a continuation of the occupation’s plans to undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, undermine its geographical and demographic unity,” as well as “consolidate the division of the West Bank, thereby facilitating its complete annexation.”
Both the West Bank and Gaza are Palestinian territories captured by Israel, as well as East Jerusalem, in the Six-Day War of 1967.
But there are important geographical differences: while Gaza is an enclave to the south of Israel on the border with Egypt, the West Bank is a much larger territory, located between Israel and Jordan, with cities like Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin, and Hebron.
Israel has built dozens of settlements throughout the West Bank, which are home to more than 500,000 residents, despite international criticism that deems them illegal. The settlers hold Israeli citizenship, while three million Palestinians in the West Bank live in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority and others that are under Israeli military control.