Israel OKs settlement challenge that might divide West Financial institution : NPR

Palestinian hamlets are seen at the E1 area, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and the occupied West Bank town of Eizariya, on Aug. 14.

Palestinian hamlets are seen on the E1 space, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim and the occupied West Financial institution city of Eizariya, on Aug. 14.

Nasser Nasser/AP

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Nasser Nasser/AP

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel gave ultimate approval Wednesday for a controversial settlement challenge within the occupied West Financial institution that may successfully minimize the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights teams say may destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.

A photo of Palestinian activist Awdah Al Hathaleen, who witnesses say was killed by an Israeli settler, hangs in the entrance to his home in the village of Umm al-Khair, West Bank, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.

Settlement improvement in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been into consideration for greater than 20 years, however was frozen as a result of U.S. strain throughout earlier administrations. The worldwide neighborhood overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement building within the West Financial institution to be unlawful and an impediment to peace.

This map shows the proposed area of the E1 settlement, alongside a depiction of existing settlements between it and Jerusalem.

This map exhibits the proposed space of the E1 settlement, alongside an outline of present settlements between it and Jerusalem.

Will Jarrett/AP

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Will Jarrett/AP

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler chief, solid the approval as a rebuke to Western international locations that introduced their plans to acknowledge a Palestinian state in current weeks.

“The Palestinian state is being erased from the desk not with slogans however with actions,” he stated on Wednesday. “Each settlement, each neighborhood, each housing unit is one other nail within the coffin of this harmful concept.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the thought of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has vowed to keep up open-ended management over the occupied West Financial institution, annexed east Jerusalem, and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized within the 1967 battle that the Palestinians need for his or her state.

Israel’s enlargement of settlements is a part of an more and more dire actuality for Palestinians within the occupied West Financial institution because the world’s consideration focuses on the battle in Gaza. There have been marked will increase in assaults by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian cities, Israeli army operations, and checkpoints that choke freedom of motion, in addition to a number of Palestinian assaults on Israelis.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map that shows the E1 settlement project during a press conference near the settlement of Maale Adumim, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Aug. 14.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map that exhibits the E1 settlement challenge throughout a press convention close to the settlement of Maale Adumim, within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, Aug. 14.

Ohad Zwigenberg/AP