Netanyahu: There will never be a Palestinian state, this land is ours

(Patria) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated today that there will be no Palestinian state.

- There will never be a Palestinian state. This land is ours - Netanyahu said in the settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank, where thousands of new housing units will be added.

Netanyahu addressed a signing ceremony for the continuation of a controversial project in the occupied West Bank that would bisect the territory Palestinians seek for a state.

- We will protect our heritage, our land, and our security. We will double the population of the city - said the Israeli Prime Minister.

Israel has long had ambitions to build settlements on approximately 12 square kilometers of land known as E1, but the plan has been delayed for years due to opposition from the international community.

Last month, the E1 project, which would cut the occupied West Bank in half and sever it from East Jerusalem, received final approval from the planning commission of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

This area is located between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near roads connecting the north and south of the Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu was joined by nationalist members of his coalition, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said in August that a Palestinian state is being "taken off the table, not with slogans but with actions".

Smotrich supported plans last month to build around 3,400 homes in a highly sensitive part of the land.

His announcement drew condemnation, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the settlement would practically divide the West Bank into two parts and pose an "existential threat" to a Palestinian state.

All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have an Israeli building permit.

Today's event concerning the E1 settlement, which followed two days after Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas leaders in Qatar and faced sharp condemnation for it, could further worsen already strained relations with many of its allies.

The relaunch of the project could further isolate Israel, as some of its Western allies, frustrated by the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and Israel's plan to escalate it, are announcing that they might recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month.

These countries include Great Britain and France. Great Britain has stated that it will take this step if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire in the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, which was triggered by the attack of the Palestinian group Hamas in October 2023.

Far-right Israeli ministers have openly called for the annexation of West Bank territory in recent months.

The Israeli non-governmental organization "Peace Now," which monitors settlement activities in the West Bank, stated last week that infrastructure work in E1 could begin within months, and housing construction within about a year.

The organization stated that the E1 plan is "deadly for Israel's future and for any chance of achieving a two-state peace solution".

Except for East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, along with about 500,000 Israeli settlers.

The two-state solution for the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict envisions a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, existing alongside Israel.