Netanyahu is pushing ahead with the E1 plan. There will be no Palestinian state, he declared.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially signed an agreement on Thursday to accelerate the controversial plan to expand settlements in the West Bank.

The project, known as E1, calls for thousands of new housing units in the area between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank, which the prime minister visited when he announced his move.

The plan, which was approved last month, has long been criticized because it would effectively cut up the occupied West Bank and make it impossible to form a contiguous Palestinian state, as well as resulting in the separation of East Jerusalem.

“There will be no Palestinian state,” Netanyahu declared, clearly rejecting the two-state solution that has been supported by the majority of the international community, including the US and the EU.

(reuters, est)