Tel Aviv, 20 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) - An Israeli planning committee approved a highly contested settlement project in the occupied West Bank on Wedneday, according to the Israeli organization Peace Now, which had a representative at the meeting.

Critics say the move could severely undermine prospects for a future Palestinian state.

The plan foresees the construction of about 3,400 housing units in the so-called E1 area, a stretch of land between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.

The area, about 12 square kilometres in size, is considered one of the most sensitive in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Construction there would effectively divide the West Bank into northern and southern sections, making it much harder, if not impossible, to form a connected Palestinian state - which has always been envisaged to include the geographically distinct Gaza Strip.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the proposal last week, saying the step "buries the idea of a Palestinian state once and for all."

The move comes as several countries, including France, Canada, and Australia, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

Israel has rejected such recognition, calling it a "reward for Hamas" following the October 7, 2023, attack.

Israel has repeatedly postponed construction plans for E1 in the past, due to international pressure.

A spokeswoman for Peace Now said Wednesday's authorization was the "final approval."

However, the government could stop the plan at any time in the future if it wanted to. In the past, projects had been stopped even after construction had already begun, the advocacy group noted.

West Bank turning into 'patchwork quilt'

In 1967, Israel seized the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where more than 700,000 settlers now live among some 3 million Palestinians. Under international law, the settlements are illegal.

The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Even under the status quo, however, the systematic settlement of the West Bank would leave the Palestinians with a patchwork of land to form their own state.

The Israeli government rejects the two-state solution on the grounds that it would endanger Israel's existence. Right-wing government ministers are very pro-settler and are pushing for Israel to annex the West Bank.

According to Peace Now, efforts to develop the E1 area date back to the 1990s. After Palestine was recognized as a UN observer state in 2012, there was an upswing in the project at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the initiative was subsequently slowed down.

How does Israel justify the construction plans?

The Israeli leadership justifies the construction plans in E1 with security interests, arguing that creating territorial continuity between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim is important from this perspective.

Right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly says that the aim is to prevent the establishment of a future Palestinian state, which he sees as an existential threat to Israel.

He says the construction plans are "Zionism at its best" and strengthen Israel's sovereignty. Smotrich is also a minister in the Defence Ministry with responsibility for civilian affairs in the West Bank.

He has threatened to annex the West Bank if Western countries go ahead with their plan to recognize a Palestinian state next month. Nearly 150 of the 193 member states of the United Nations have already done so.

The goal is to push forward a two-state solution. This means that Israel and an independent Palestinian state would exist peacefully side by side.

Photo: epa