Israel Greenlights Disputed West Bank Settlement Development - German Criticism Emerges - Approval of contentious West Bank settlement scheme sparks criticism from Berlin, says Israel report
In a move that has sparked international criticism, the Israeli Ministry of Defense has approved the E1 project proposed by right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The project, planned to include the construction of settlements in the West Bank, has been met with strong opposition from several countries and international bodies.
The E1 project, covering around twelve square kilometers, would cement these areas into "a kind of real prisons," according to the Palestinian Authority. They argue that the approved Israeli settlement project would undermine "the prospects for the realization of the two-state solution," a vision that envisions the establishment of an independent Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel within secure, recognized borders.
The project's approval comes despite protests from abroad, with countries such as France, Britain, Canada, Germany, and the US sharply criticizing the decision. The German government, in particular, "decidedly rejects" the approval of the plan for the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, stating that such construction violates international law and hinders a two-state solution.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, have also criticized the E1 project, stating that it further undermines the two-state solution and violates international law. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "reckless decision," while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to it as a "reward for terror."
The Israeli government's response to those recognizing a Palestinian state, according to Smotrich, would be "concrete facts: houses, neighborhoods, streets, and Jewish families building their lives." This stance is a departure from the German government's position, which states that the recognition of a Palestinian state is "not an option in the short term" and continues to support "a negotiated two-state solution."
Israel took control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since then, despite international pressure, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank, where around 500,000 Israelis live alongside around three million Palestinians. The Israeli Vice Prime Minister Yigal Allon was behind the plan to settle strategically important areas in the West Bank to secure an Israeli majority, a policy that Likud governments since 1977 have continued, providing financial incentives to Israeli settlers, often orthodox Jews, to move there and consolidate influence.
The E1 project, if implemented, would divide the West Bank into "isolated, separate areas," making the already complex peace process even more challenging. The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has declared that the approved Israeli settlement project would destroy the "geographic and demographic unity of the Palestinian state."
The international community will continue to watch closely as the situation develops, with many calling for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict that respects the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.
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