Israeli authorities are advancing plans to enlarge illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, drawing wide international censure and raising concerns that the action will obliterate any remaining opportunity of a two-state solution.
Israel is anticipated to debate on Wednesday the building of thousands of new homes in the contentious E1 zone between Ma’ale Adumim and occupied East Jerusalem. Should it pass, the scheme would virtually divide the West Bank in two, thereby segregating Palestinian villages and further consolidating Israeli power.
Over 4,000Â housing units, hotels, and roads would be built on 1,214 hectares of Palestinian land that were seized. Critics claim this equals de facto annexation of important Palestinian land.
Echoing earlier warnings from the EU and US that the scheme would make a future Palestinian country almost impossible, Germany restated its fierce rejection of it.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right administration seems to be increasing arrests in the West Bank and expanding its military campaign in Gaza. Overnight, Israeli forces arrested at least 30 Palestinians in cities including Hebron, Bethlehem, and Ramallah. According to Palestinian sources, more than 18,500 people have been arrested in the West Bank since October 2023.
In the last few weeks, home demolitions and settler strikes have also surged. Twelve Palestinian buildings, including sixty houses, were demolished in July alone. Protected by Israeli forces, settlers have burned fields, assaulted people, and forced families from their homes in coordinated attacks.
Palestinian authorities and human rights organizations caution that these activities form part of a larger plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from strategic areas, thus separating the West Bank into isolated enclaves.
In a further escalation, Israeli authorities have barred Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Muhammad Hussein from Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months after he decried Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Despite growing pressure, Israel seems resolved to go ahead with the E1 strategy—a move rights organizations claim aims to guarantee there is “no Palestinian state on the ground,” even if the international community chooses to recognize one diplomatically.
