Israeli finance minister revives controversial E1 settlement plan, drawing global concerns

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved plans to move forward with a long-stalled settlement project in the E1 area, a highly sensitive zone between East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The move, announced overnight, has reignited fears of a serious blow to the viability of a future Palestinian state and is likely to provoke sharp international criticism, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

In a strongly worded statement titled “Burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich’s spokesperson confirmed the minister’s decision to greenlight the construction of 3,401 housing units for Israeli settlers. The proposed development would effectively sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank, a geographic rupture that critics argue would make the territorial continuity of a Palestinian state nearly impossible.

Smotrich, a far-right figure in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, is scheduled to hold a press conference to provide further details on the plan. The minister has been a vocal opponent of Palestinian statehood and has repeatedly advocated for the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

It remains unclear whether Prime Minister Netanyahu supports the revival of the E1 plan. The controversial proposal had been effectively frozen since 2012 due to strong objections from the United States, European Union, and other global powers, who viewed the project as a severe obstacle to any two-state solution.

By Vafa Guliyeva