'There will be no Palestine, it belongs to us': Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows to double West Bank's population

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday declared that there would be no Palestinian state, as he presided over a signing ceremony for a major settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Speaking in Maale Adumim, a large settlement east of Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, “We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us.” He pledged to double the city’s population, saying the project was essential to protecting Israel’s heritage, land, and security. The event was streamed live by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The expansion focuses on the E1 area, a strategically sensitive zone between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. The plan, which envisions building thousands of homes, had been stalled for years due to international opposition. Critics argue that construction in E1 would sever the West Bank, cutting off the northern and southern areas and making a future Palestinian state geographically unviable.


Last month, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed plans to build about 3,400 homes in the area, sparking condemnation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that such settlement activity poses an “existential threat” to the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and all settlements there are considered illegal under international law, regardless of Israeli approval. Several Western nations, including Britain and France, have said they plan to recognise Palestine at the United Nations later this month if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza conflict.

Peace Now, an Israeli NGO that tracks settlement activity, recently reported that infrastructure work in E1 could begin within months, with housing construction starting within a year. The group called the plan “deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution.”

The West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, is home to around three million Palestinians and roughly half a million Israeli settlers.