Source: US News & World Report
“Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans overnight for a [squat] that would split [occupied] East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state. It was not immediately clear if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which Palestinians and world powers have said would effectively lop the West Bank in two and will likely draw international ire. … Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions in June on Smotrich and another far-right minister who advocates for [squat] expansion, accusing both of them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.” (08/14/25)