Signing The Plan For Settlement Expansion In The West Bank, Netanyahu: No Palestinian Country

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday signed an agreement to continue plans for the expansion of the controversial settlements, across the territories Palestinians are fighting for for a country.

"There will never be a Palestinian state. This place belongs to us," Netanyahu said during a visit to Maale Adumim settlements in the West Bank, where thousands of new housing units would be built.

"We will protect our heritage, our land and our security," he said.

Last month, the E1 project, which will divide the occupied West Bank and separate it from East Jerusalem, received final approval from the Ministry of Defense's planning commission.

Netanyahu joined nationalist members from his coalition, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who in August said the Palestinian State "is being removed from the negotiating table, not with a slogan but with action."

This move, taken two days after Israel tried to kill Hamas leaders in Qatar and condemned completely, could worsen tense relations with many of its allies.

Restarting the project could further isolate Israel, which has witnessed several frustrated Western allies with the planned continuation and escalation of the Gaza war, announcing that it may recognize the Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month.

It is known, E1 is located adjacent to Maale Adumim and frozen in 2012 and 2020 amid objections from the US and European governments.

The total investment in this project, which will include additional roads and major infrastructure improvements, is estimated at nearly $1 billion.

The capital and Western campaign groups have opposed this settlement project because it fears it could undermine future peace deals with Palestine.

A two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict envisions a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, coexisting with Israel.

Most international communities consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.