Israel on Wednesday approved new settlements in the West Bank and announced that it was moving ahead with plans to take over Gaza City, bucking international criticism and defying growing support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
The moves raised questions about whether a new cease-fire proposal — which officials have said is similar to terms that Israel previously endorsed — could move forward.
Experts said the two moves suggested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was bending to the ideologies of extremists in his coalition in order to remain in power — even at the cost of isolating Israel internationally.
The idea of a Palestinian state “is being erased from the table,” Bezalel Smotrich, the hard-line finance minister, declared after the government approved a settlement project of 3,400 housing units in the heart of the occupied West Bank.
“Every town, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea,” Mr. Smotrich said on Wednesday.
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