Israel approves plan that will fragment the West Bank and bury the two-state solution
The Israeli offensive against the Palestinian people continues unabated. On this occasion, Benjamin Netanyahu's government, through Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Minister of Defence, has approved the E1 settlement project, which has been frozen for decades and aims to divide the West Bank to isolate East Jerusalem and fragment Palestine.
- ‘The idea of a Palestinian state is fading’
- The West Bank will become a prison
- Settlements violate international law
‘The idea of a Palestinian state is fading’
With the approval of the plan, Israel intends to create a colony of more than 3,400 homes that will help eliminate the ‘hoax’ of the two-state solution.
‘The Palestinian state is being wiped off the map not with slogans, but with deeds. Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every home is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea,’ Smotrich celebrated. ‘With the E1 plan, we are finally achieving what we promised years ago,’ he concluded.
Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Thursday the launch of the 'E1' settlement plan, which is aimed at connecting East Jerusalem with the West Bank Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim - a move he declared would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
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Along the same lines, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that this project is part of the control over ‘the land of Israel’. ‘Twenty-five years ago, I said that we would do everything possible to ensure our control over the land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to prevent attempts to uproot us from here... And we have kept that promise’, Benjamin Netanyahu said.
However, the E1 Project has also been widely condemned by countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia and Jordan. On the other hand, the UN has stated that the plan makes it difficult to find a lasting peace in the short term.
The Palestinian Authority, seeing that Israel has approved the E1 project, has demanded that the international community officially recognise Palestine as an independent state. ‘If Israel is erasing the possibility of a Palestinian state on the ground, then recognise us as a state officially,’ the Palestinian entity said in a statement.
These demands are of vital importance to the Palestinians, since if Israel maintains its plan to build settlements on Palestinian territory that fragment its territorial integrity, they believe that the countries of the world must take action on the matter by recognising the Palestinian state.
The West Bank will become a prison
However, the Palestinian Authority not only denounces the fragmentation, but has also pointed out that the West Bank will become a prison where Palestinians will have no rights and will be locked up under a military regime that will control them at all times.
Dividing the West Bank will mean that, in order to move between Palestinian areas, the population will need to pass through Israeli checkpoints, which hinders the daily movement of people, goods, services, ambulances, etc.
However, the Palestinian authorities fear that this project is the beginning of what many analysts and governments consider to be a further step towards the total annexation of the West Bank by Israel, something prohibited by international law. In fact, organisations such as Ir Amim and Peace Now claim that Israel is implementing a system of segregation, where Israeli settlers have privileges over Palestinians in the same territory.
Peace Now estimates that work will begin in a few months. This Israeli NGO warns that infrastructure work (roads, electricity, etc.) could begin very soon, even before the construction of the residences, which is estimated to begin within a year.
‘Under the pretext of war, Smotrich and his minority of messianic friends are establishing a delusional settlement that we will have to evacuate in any agreement,’ Peace Now has denounced.
Settlements violate international law
Some governments and international actors are calling for concrete measures against Israel, such as economic or diplomatic sanctions, to stop this plan. King Abdullah II of Jordan once again defended that the only possible solution is for Palestine to have its own independent state alongside Israel.
According to the Geneva Convention, it is prohibited for a power to transfer its civilian population to occupied territories, as Israel is doing with the settlements.
Furthermore, international rulings such as that of the International Court of Justice have declared the expansion of Israeli settlements illegal and demanded their cessation and evacuation, positioning the settlements as a violation of international law and the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
The project aims to nip in the bud the possibility of Palestine having a contiguous and functional territory, something essential for any sovereign state. This decision, coupled with the attacks on Gaza and military mobilisation, is raising tensions throughout the region, with the risk of further violence or even a major conflict.
