Israel okays settlement plan to ‘bury’ idea of Palestine

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem, a move his office said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian government, allies and campaign groups condemned the scheme, calling it illegal and saying the fragmentation of territory would rip up any internationally backed peace plans for the region.

Smotrich said PM Netanyahu and US President Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 development, though there was no immediate confirmation from either.

Palestinians fear the settlement building in the West Bank — which has sharply intensified since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war — will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area.

In a statement headlined “Burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich’s spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. In Maale Adumim, Smotrich said

the plan would go into effect on Wednesday.

Starvation rages on

Netanyahu on Sunday told local media, “There is no hunger. There was no hunger. There was a shortage, and there was certainly no policy of starvation.” In the face of international outcry, Netanyahu has pushed back, saying reports of starvation are “lies” promoted by Hamas.

However, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric this week warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza were at the highest levels since the war began.

The UN says nearly 12,000 children under 5 were found to have acute malnutrition in July — including more than 2,500 with severe malnutrition, the most dangerous level. The WHO says the numbers are likely an undercount.

The Israeli military pointed that some children who died had preexisting conditions, arguing their deaths were “unrelated to their nutritional status.”