Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has authorised the construction of 3,401 homes in the long-stalled E1 corridor east of Jerusalem, reviving a plan first advanced more than two decades ago. The project would extend the Ma’ale Adumim settlement toward the city and, according to planning documents, create an uninterrupted bloc of Israeli housing between East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied West Bank. Announcing the decision at a news conference on Thursday, Smotrich said the expansion “buries the idea of a Palestinian state” and signalled further steps to impose Israeli sovereignty over the territory. He added that the government envisages investing billions of shekels to attract as many as one million additional settlers to the West Bank, and stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the initiative. Israeli advocacy group Peace Now warned the E1 build-out would sever north-south contiguity in the West Bank, making a viable two-state solution almost impossible. Qatar’s foreign ministry joined a chorus of Arab and European capitals criticising the announcement, while international law still deems Israeli settlements in occupied territory illegal. The decision comes as several countries prepare to recognise a Palestinian state in September, heightening the stakes of a diplomatic showdown. Roughly 700,000 Israelis already live in about 160 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, figures that have climbed steadily despite repeated calls from Washington and Brussels to halt the expansion.