Haaretz: Smotrich is Right and the New Settlement Plan Will Bury the Palestinian State

SadaNews - The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted analysts describing the statements of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that the new settlement plan will eliminate the idea of a Palestinian state as "accurate statements that fully reflect what will happen if the plan is implemented."

Smotrich, who is considered the architect of the settlement project in Jerusalem known as "E-1," did not hide his intentions when he said last Thursday, "This reality will finally bury the idea of a Palestinian state, because there will be nothing to recognize."

The newspaper explained in an editorial that the Israeli government is preparing to grant final approval next week for the "E-1" project, which is a settlement construction plan in the area between East Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.

It added that this move, which has been delayed for many years under international pressure, carries consequences described as "dramatic and irreversible" for the future of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Death Sentence

It stated that the Higher Planning Council in the Civil Administration, which is under the supervision of the Finance Minister, has already discussed the establishment of 3,412 housing units in the area, and experts and observers consider this plan to be a "death sentence" on any possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state.

It noted that this plan will consume the last remaining vital land spaces in the heart of the West Bank, and will isolate and suffocate three major Palestinian cities: Ramallah, East Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, which are home to about one million Palestinians.

Contradiction with International Trends

In contrast, the overwhelming majority of countries around the world, which has recently increased, continue to affirm their commitment to the two-state solution and recognizing the Palestinian state.

Haaretz commented on this by saying that the Israeli government is moving in a direction that contradicts international trends, raising fears that the new settlement plan will lead to the strengthening of Israel's isolation and its transformation into an even more ostracized state in the international community.

Observers, according to Haaretz, point out that the new plan is merely part of a larger project, as Smotrich and his team are pushing to officially annex the West Bank to Israel, or at least to annex Area C, which is already under complete Israeli control according to the Oslo agreements.

Imposing New Realities

The newspaper adds that, at the same time, new realities are being imposed on the ground aimed at reducing the Palestinian presence and pushing it out of these areas. The longer-term vision includes the expulsion of Palestinians from the entire West Bank.

These plans are accompanied by systematic field policies, including:

-Daily assaults carried out by settlers against Palestinian farmers and the burning of their property.

-Transforming the West Bank into hundreds of isolated enclaves, separated by iron gates at the entrances of cities and villages that the army can close at any moment.

-Deploying a network of hundreds of permanent and temporary checkpoints that restrict freedom of movement.

-Establishing new agricultural settlements since the onset of the war in Gaza, seizing vast areas of land under the pretext of transforming them into pastures for settlers' livestock.

Analysts believe that these policies constitute an integrated strategy to prevent any possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state, while simultaneously paving the way for a large-scale population transfer from the West Bank, in line with the visions of the more "extreme" faction in the current Israeli government.