An explosive plan returns to West Bank. After more than a decade of freezing, the Israel He approved the plan known as “E1”, which provides for the construction of 3,400 new houses in the colonization of Maale Antumim, east of Jerusalem. A decision that is causing strong reactions to the international community.
“The political leadership has just approved the construction of the E1 district,” Maale Antumim’s Mayor, Guy Yafhah. This plan, which had been frozen since 2012 under the pressure of the United States and the European Union, aims to link the colonization with East Jerusalem, thus cutting the city – which the Palestinians claim as the capital – from the rest of the Israeli West Bank.
International convictions
The announcement was already made last week by Bezalel Smotric, Israel’s finance minister and a prominent form of the far right that supports the expansion of settlements. The European Union and the UN immediately called on Israel to abandon the plan.
The Peace Now organization, which monitors settlement activity, denounces a “deadly danger to the solution of the two states” and warns that Israel is “on the brink of abyss”.
Colonization and increasing tensions
Israeli settlements on the West Bank, as well as military occupation, are considered illegal by the international community. Despite repeated calls of the United Kingdom, Canada and other Western countries to stop this policy, the settlement movement is intensifying.
In the last 22 months, as the war in Gaza continues, the attacks on Palestinians on the West Bank are multiplying, while Jewish settlements are still expanding.