Israel’s Smotrich Approves Plan to Split West Bank, “Bury” Palestinian Statehood

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is advancing a longstanding illegal settlement plan in the occupied West Bank which would split the region and “permanently bury the idea of a Palestinian state,” the minister said.

Under the plan, Israel will build more than 3,000 homes on stolen Palestinian land in the E1 settlement area. The settlements would cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank, connecting Jerusalem to an existing illegal settlement, Maale Adumim. East Jerusalem is widely recognized by Palestinian authorities and allies as the site for the capital of a Palestinian state.

“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,” said Smotrich in remarks Thursday. “Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.”

The plan is expected to receive final approval next week.

Palestinian officials have condemned the announcement, saying it comes in tandem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s backing of the idea of “Greater Israel,” in which Israel would annex the entirety of what remains of historic Palestine, as well as parts of other Arab countries.

“Israel’s newly announced plan to build 3,401 settlement units in the contentious E1 area, located between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim colony, the continuation of genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, and the escalation of settler violence will only lead to further escalation, tension, and instability,” the Palestinian president said in a statement.

The E1 plan has existed for decades as a longstanding goal of Israel and allies like the U.S. for Israel to conquer Palestine. Such proposals have existed under the guise of historic pushes for a two-state solution, which advocates for Palestinian rights often criticize as a distraction that allows Israel to continue its construction of illegal settlements, de facto annexation, and now genocide.

“It falls within the framework of the extremist Israeli government’s plans to undermine any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on the ground, to fragment the West Bank, and to separate its southern part from the center and the north,” Ahmed al Deek, political adviser to Palestinian foreign affairs minister, told The Associated Press. He called Smotrich’s announcement a “colonial, expansionist, and racist move.”

U.S. leaders have previously opposed the E1 plan, causing it to be delayed, while still allowing other illegal settlement projects to proceed. But Israeli officials have been advancing the plan in recent months, and rights groups indeed say that it could prove a major impediment to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The announcement comes as Israel has escalated its rhetoric in openly backing the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank — after Israeli officials have been working toward the de facto annexation of the Palestinian territories for decades. This comes despite the International Court of Justice ruling last year reaffirming that Israel’s settlements are illegal and ordering Israel to return the land to Palestinians.

Smotrich’s announcement comes as a direct result of Australia, Canada, France, and the U.K.’s announcements that they are planning to recognize a Palestinian state — without announcing moves to hold Israel accountable and even as all of these states placed conditions on the recognition that favor Israel.

Smotrich has moved in direct retaliation to such announcements before, collectively punishing Palestinians for foreign governments’ actions. In June, he moved to effectively paralyze the Palestinian economy by cutting off Palestinian banks from the global system after Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the U.K. announced that they were sanctioning Smotrich over “repeated incitements of violence” against Palestinians in the West Bank.