US seemingly approves of 3400 new Israeli homes in ‘West Bank’

US State Department spokesperson: “A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

In response to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s new E-1 settlement plan, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department affirmed that the U.S. wanted to see a “stable” Judea and Samaria as the solution for peace in the region.

When asked about Smotrich’s plan to build 3,400 housing units in eastern Jerusalem, also referred to as “the West Bank,” the spokesperson said that currently, the US was mainly focused on bringing the war in Gaza to a close and ensuring that Hamas will never govern the area again.

The State Department spokesperson added, “A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” and he referred to the Israeli government for further information.

The position is the opposite of previous administrations, which have insisted that Israeli building in Judea and Samaria perpetuates conflict and impedes the goal of a two-state solution.

On Wednesday, Smotrich approved the E-1 plan, which would connect Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem and lead to the building of 3,400 housing units in Ma’ale Adumim—a move that would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Although Smotrich announced the plan, there has been no official approval for it.

Plans to build in this area have been shelved for decades, given international disapproval and insistence that the area should be the basis for a future Palestinian state.

“From the Palestinian perspective and that of the international community, this is a critical area. Without it, the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital is simply impossible,” Smotrich said in a media statement.

“Approval of construction plans in E-1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the government.”