Israel’s far-right finance minister announced approval Thursday of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a Palestinian state by effectively cutting the territory into two parts.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction, which is expected to receive final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans. It came as many countries, including Australia, Britain, France, and Canada say they will recognize a Palestinian state in September.
The construction on a tract of land east of Jerusalem named E1 has been has been under consideration for more than two decades, and is especially controversial because it is one of the last geographic links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem.
The two cities are 22 kilometers (14 miles) apart by air. But once an Israeli settlement is completed, it would require Palestinians traveling between cities to drive several kilometers (miles) out of their way and pass through multiple checkpoints.
“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize,” Smotrich said during a ceremony on Thursday. “Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state — will receive an answer from us on the ground,” he said.