Grab your passport to geopolitics! 🌍✈️ Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, just doubled down on a plan to build 3,400 homes in the hotly debated E1 area of the West Bank.
Smotrich called for the annexation of the territory as a direct ‘response’ to recent moves by countries like the UK and France to recognize a Palestinian state. ‘Those who want to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive a response from us on the ground… Through concrete actions: houses, neighborhoods, roads and Jewish families building their lives,’ he declared.
But the plan is far from harmless. The UN Secretary-General’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, warned that if the E1 construction goes ahead, it ‘would sever the northern and southern West banks’ and ‘put an end to the prospects of a two-state solution.’ 🚨
Palestinian authorities have condemned the proposal, urging ‘genuine international intervention’ and sanctions to stop what they call ‘colonial construction’ meant to ‘destroy the opportunity for the establishment of a Palestinian state.’
Across the globe, reactions poured in:
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said it ‘further undermines the two-state solution’ and violates international law.
- Germany ‘strongly objects’ and demands an immediate halt to settlement expansion.
- Saudi Arabia condemned the move ‘in the strongest possible terms.’
- Israeli NGO Peace Now called the E1 plan ‘deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution.’
Despite decades of international pushback, the final approval hearing by the Defense Ministry’s technical committee is scheduled for next Wednesday. If all bureaucratic hurdles are cleared, infrastructure work could start within months, with housing following about a year later.
Keep watching this space as the E1 saga unfolds—this could reshape the map and the future for millions! 🗺️🏠
Reference(s):
Israeli far-right minister backs contentious West Bank settlement plan
cgtn.com
