Well there goes any hope for the westbank
A government tender says Israel has cleared the final hurdle before starting construction on a controversial settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank in two
www.latimes.com
- Israel has cleared final hurdles to begin the E1 settlement project, which would effectively bisect the West Bank into two separate territories.
- International critics say the settlement would prevent a contiguous Palestinian state, though Israeli officials have championed the plan for decades.
JERUSALEM — Israel has cleared the final hurdle before starting construction on a
controversial settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank into two, according to a government tender.
The tender, seeking bids from developers, would clear the way to begin construction of the E1 project.
The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now first reported the tender. Yoni Mizrahi, who runs the group’s settlement watch division, said initial work could begin within the month.
Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who oversees settlement policy, has long pushed for the plan to become a reality.
The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he said in August, when Israel gave final approval to the plan. “Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”