However on Sunday, during a visit to Ofra, another West Bank settlement established a quarter of a century ago, he made broader comments, saying: “I said 25 years ago that we will do everything to secure our grip on the Land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to prevent the attempts to uproot us from here. Thank God, what I promised, we have delivered.”
The two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel.
Western capitals and campaign groups have opposed the settlement project due to concerns that it could undermine a future peace deal with the Palestinians.
The plan for E1, located adjacent to Maale Adumim and frozen in 2012 and 2020 amid objections from the US and European governments, involves the construction of about 3,400 new housing units.
Infrastructure work could begin within a few months, and house building in about a year, according to Israeli advocacy group Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.
Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area and saying the settlements provide strategic depth and security.
