ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that there will “be no Palestinian state” at a signing ceremony for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank.

Settlement development in E1, a roughly 12 square kilometre open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades – but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations.

The project would effectively cut the West Bank in two, with Palestinians and rights groups saying could destroy plans for a future Palestinian state.

Speaking at the event in Maale Adumim, an illegal Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem, Netanyahu said: “We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us.

“We will safeguard our heritage, our land and our security… We are going to double the city’s population.”

The event was streamed live by his office.

The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between Ramallah, in the northern West Bank, and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.

Palestinian hamlets in the area planned for the E1 settlement. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The two cities are 14 miles apart by air, but Palestinians travelling between them must take a wide detour and pass through multiple Israeli checkpoints, adding hours to the journey.

The hope for final status negotiations for a Palestinian state was to have the region eventually serve as a direct link between the cities.

Last month, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed plans to build around 3,500 homes on the ultra-sensitive parcel of land.

His announcement drew condemnation, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying the settlement would pose an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.

All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission.

Israel’s plans to expand settlements are part of an increasingly difficult reality for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as the world’s attention focuses on the war in Gaza.

There have been marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

More than 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state.

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The latest statement from Netanyahu comes as several governments, including the UK and France, plan to recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly later this month.

The UK has said it will take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza

Far-right Israeli ministers have in recent months openly called for Israel’s annexation of the territory.

Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, said last week that infrastructure work in E1 could begin within a few months, and housing construction within about a year.

It said the E1 plan was “deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution”.

With reporting from © AFP 2025