Rome, August 14 (LaPresse) – Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician, announced last night his intention to approve tenders for the construction of about 3,400 housing units in the controversial E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim in the West Bank. He stated that this move "buries the idea of a Palestinian state," according to Israeli media. The project, explains the Times of Israel, had been frozen for decades due to strong international opposition, fearing that the new settlement could block the creation of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state. "Approving the construction plans in E1 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 we began implementing with the establishment of the government," Smotrich said in a statement.
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