On the 11th, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu signed an agreement aimed at advancing the controversial "E1 area" Jewish settlement construction plan in the West Bank—plans that have drawn international condemnation—and declared that "there will be no Palestinian state."
According to Xinhua News Agency, since late July, countries such as France, the UK, Canada, and Australia have successively announced plans or preparations to recognize the State of Palestine. The international community's calls to implement the "two-state solution" have further intensified.
Netanyahu signed the agreement at a ceremony held in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. According to a statement from the prime minister's office that evening, Netanyahu said at the ceremony: "We are going to fulfill our promise: there will be no Palestinian state. This land belongs to us."
According to The Times of Israel, Israeli far-right politician and Finance Minister Smotrich, who attended the same ceremony, told Netanyahu that Israel will soon celebrate the "annexation of the West Bank."
"Burying the Idea of a Palestinian State"
In mid-August, Smotrich issued a statement saying he planned to approve the construction of about 3,400 settlement housing units in the "E1 area" between east Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, aiming to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state." Subsequently, the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration under Israel's Ministry of Defense approved this housing construction plan. According to Israeli media, this move will split the West Bank in two, preventing the Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah from connecting with each other.
The issue of Jewish settlements is one of the main obstacles to peace talks between Israel and Palestine. During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and began building Jewish settlements, strongly opposed by the Palestinian side. According to a population data report released by the Israeli government at the end of last year, about 510,000 Israelis currently live in Jewish settlements in the West Bank that are built in violation of international law.