Israel appears set to approve controversial settlement of 3,400 homes in West Bank

<p>Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said he believed the E1 plan would ‘bury the idea of a Palestinian state’</p><p>Israel appears set to give formal planning approval to a highly controversial settlement project for more than 3,400 new homes – which has been frozen for decades – which critics say would split the occupied West Bank in half.</p><p>Strongly opposed by the international community, the so-called E1 plan would extend the existing Jewish settlement of Ma’ale Adumim towards Jerusalem, further cutting occupied east Jerusalem from the West Bank, and further separating the north and south of the territory.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/israel-appears-set-to-approve-controversial-settlement-of-3400-homes-in-west-bank">Continue reading...</a>