--- description: Peace Now has warned that the “government’s annexation moves” are “guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed.” title: Israel Approves New West Bank Settlement Project image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf28c48e03bd80430/6998c90366d4e37212cbcbbf/GettyImages-2229271424.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Israel-Hamas War](/tag/israel-hamas-war/) ## Israel-Hamas War Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Israel Approves West Bank Settlement Project That Advocacy Groups Say 'Guarantees More Bloodshed' ## Video: What Countries Recognize Palestinian Statehood? [Watch (HLS stream): What Countries Recognize Palestinian Statehood?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4jtr0ykm.m3u8) (1:18)  _Published 2025-08-12. Amid mounting international pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza, there is growing diplomatic momentum in the West to recognize Palestinian statehood. Throughout the summer of 2025, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Malta, and Australia announced that they will recognize a Palestinian state at the session in September._  by [Olivia-Anne Cleary](/author/olivia-anne-cleary/)  ## Olivia-Anne Cleary Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Cleary is an editor at TIME, based in the London bureau. Updated: Aug 20, 2025 3:15 PM CUTPublished: Aug 14, 2025 3:48 PM CUT  Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map of an area near the settlement of Maale Adumim, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 14, 2025, after a press conference. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map of an area near the settlement of Maale Adumim, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 14, 2025, after a press conference.Menahem Kahana—Getty Images  by [Olivia-Anne Cleary](/author/olivia-anne-cleary/)  ## Olivia-Anne Cleary Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Cleary is an editor at TIME, based in the London bureau. Updated: Aug 20, 2025 3:15 PM CUTPublished: Aug 14, 2025 3:48 PM CUT Israel has approved Finance Minister [Bezalel Smotrich](https://time.com/7292990/israel-ben-gvir-smotrich-sanctions-west-bank-gaza/ "undefined")'s plan to build more than 3,000 new housing units as part of a settlement project in the [occupied West Bank](https://time.com/7289555/israel-expansion-settlements-west-bank/ "undefined"). During a final approval hearing on Wednesday, the construction—which Smotrich has said will “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”—was given the green light, despite major concerns by advocacy groups. “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans, but with actions,” said Smotrich after the hearing, echoing his previous remarks shooting down the possibility of a [two-state solution](https://time.com/7309671/israel-trump-palestinian-statehood/ "undefined") in the [Israel-Hamas war](https://time.com/tag/israel-hamas-war/ "undefined"). “They will talk about a Palestinian dream, and we will continue to build a Jewish reality,” said Smotrich during a press conference announcing the project on Aug. 14\. “This reality is what will permanently bury the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize.” Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://time.com/7008717/benjamin-netanyahu-interview/ "undefined") has yet to make a statement regarding the settlement plan being approved, nor is it clear when construction might begin. TIME has reached out to his office for comment. Far-right politician Smotrich’s plan sees the revival of the widely-critiqued E1 project worked on by Jerusalem officials and the Maale Adumim settlement. The project, which had been on ice for decades due to international concerns, effectively isolates the territory by cutting off the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Critics have condemned the advancement of the plan, citing fears that this split will prove detrimental to any possibility of a Palestinian state in the future. Israeli advocacy group [Peace Now warned](https://peacenow.org.il/en/e1-validation-scheduled "undefined") last week that the “government’s annexation moves” are “guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed.” “The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed,” the group said in an online statement. “There is a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the terrible war in Gaza—the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel—and it will ultimately come.” **Read More**: [_The Violent Gaza-ification of the West Bank_](https://time.com/7304755/violent-gaza-ification-west-bank/ "undefined") The West Bank is defined by the United Nations [as under Israeli military occupation](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-203742/ "undefined"). Smotrich is a long-time proponent of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are widely considered to be [in violation of international law](https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.33%5FGC-IV-EN.pdf "undefined"). Smotrich has been administered with [sanctions by the U.K. and others](https://time.com/7292990/israel-ben-gvir-smotrich-sanctions-west-bank-gaza/ "undefined") after being accused of inciting violence against Palestinians in the territory. Smotrich’s settlement project comes as the international spotlight on Israel intensifies, with growing calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war amid mass concerns over the ongoing [malnutrition crisis in Gaza](https://time.com/7306512/gaza-starvation-malnutrition-crisis-famine-long-term/ "undefined")and backlash over Netanyahu’s [plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip](https://time.com/7308492/gaza-israel-arms-sales-germany/ "undefined"). A number of countries have pledged to [recognize a Palestinian state](https://time.com/7308777/palestinian-statehood-countries-recognize-map-australia-momentum-israel-hamas-gaza/ "undefined"), should Israel not meet certain conditions. In July, U.K. Prime Minister Sir [Keir Starmer](https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273780/keir-starmer/ "undefined") said the U.K. would formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless Israel implements a cease-fire and commits to a two-state solution. [France](https://time.com/7305441/france-palestine-statehood-israel-trump-macron/ "undefined"), Australia, and [Canada](https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2025/07/30/statement-prime-minister-carney-canadas-recognition-palestinian-state "undefined") are among the countries that have made similar statements.  People disperse as Israeli tanks enter the Jenin camp for refugees in the West Bank, on Feb. 23, 2025. Jaafar Ashtiyeh—Getty Images **Read More:** [_Israeli Settler Violence Escalates in the West Bank After Death of Palestinian-American_](https://time.com/7303174/west-bank-israel-settler-violence-gaza-hamas-war/ "undefined") Reports of [escalating violence in the West Bank](https://time.com/7303174/west-bank-israel-settler-violence-gaza-hamas-war/ "undefined"), specifically Israeli settler attacks, are also causing global concern. According to an [Aug. 7 report by the United Nations](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/humanitarian-situation-update-312-west-bank/ "undefined"), between July 29 and Aug. 4, two Palestinian adults were killed in the West Bank, one by Israeli forces and the other by an armed settler. Within that same timeframe, “at least 57 Palestinians, including 11 children, were injured, the majority by Israeli forces and 14 by Israeli settlers.” There have been heightened tensions in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which was triggered after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to [Gaza's Health Ministry](https://www.facebook.com/MOHGaza1994/posts/pfbid09YSxmvKsdnku7P95A5medQXXuTGJXkwqToxxeFkQvcRYAoGQ8tBtiVATckqnhuapl "undefined"). In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. 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