Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the establishment of a new settlement that would separate occupied East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich said: “At last, this reality buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there will be nothing left to recognize and no one to recognize it. Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state will receive a response from us on the ground.”

It is not yet clear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the plan to revive the “E1” project, which has been frozen since 2002 due to U.S. objections, viewing it as a threat to any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.