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Israel's far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, approved overnight plans for a settlement that would separate East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.
The settlement, his office says, would bury the idea of a Palestinian state. It is not yet clear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which the Palestinians and world powers have said would ultimately divide the West Bank in two.
In a statement titled "burying the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's spokesman said the minister would hold a press conference on Thursday about the plan to build 3,401 homes for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel had frozen construction in that area in 2012 due to opposition from the United States, European allies and other world powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu and his government have not yet commented on the plan. Smotrich's popularity has plummeted in recent months, with polls showing his party would not win a single seat if parliamentary elections were held today.
The E1 project would connect the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim to Jerusalem. Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the military occupation of the region since 1967 as illegal.
The organization "Peace Now", which monitors settlement construction in the West Bank, said that the Israeli Ministry has approved the construction of 3,300 homes in Maale Adumim.
"The E1 plan is fatal to the future of Israel and to any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing on the brink of an abyss and the Government is pushing us forward at full speed," the "Peace Now" organization said in a statement.
The organization stressed that several steps are still needed before construction can begin, including approval from Israel's Supreme Planning Council. But if all goes well, construction work on the settlement could begin within months and construction of the homes within about a year, it added.
Critics of the E1 project say it would divide the West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem - which Palestinians want as their future capital - and make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions in June on Smotrich and another far-right minister over their support for settlement expansion, accusing both of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Britain and other countries have said Israel must stop expanding settlements in the West Bank.
Over the past 22 months, as Israel has waged war in Gaza, human rights groups have said settler attacks and settlement expansion in the West Bank have increased significantly./ REL
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