Israel approves West Bank settlement project

A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across land which the Palestinians seek for a state received final approval Wednesday, according to a statement from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

- REUTERS

The approval of the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, was announced last week by Smotrich and received final go-ahead from a defence ministry planning commission Wednesday, he said.

Restarting the project could further isolate Israel, which has watched some Western allies frustrated by its continuation and planned escalation of the Gaza war announce they may recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“With El we are delivering finally on what has been promised for years,” Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition, said in a statement. “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions.”