Netanyahu Signs Settlement Expansion Plan Including E1 Project: "There Will Be No Palestinian State"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday the signing of an agreement to move forward with a controversial settlement expansion plan, which includes the E1 project that is considered one of the most sensitive plans on the international stage, due to its direct impact on the division of the occupied West Bank and its isolation from East Jerusalem.

The announcement came during Netanyahu's visit to the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, where he revealed the addition of thousands of new housing units, emphasizing in a notable statement: "There will be no Palestinian state."

The E1 project, which received final approval last month, is a strategic step aimed at connecting the Ma'ale Adumim settlement to the city of Jerusalem, effectively separating the northern West Bank from the southern part, and undermining the possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.

International organizations and Western governments have warned that the implementation of the project would deal a fatal blow to the two-state solution and threaten the chances of reaching a fair political settlement, at a time when the region is witnessing escalating military and diplomatic tensions.