Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction could thwart Palestinian statehood plans

France on Saturday condemned Israel's decision to build thousands of new homes in the West Bank and called on Israel to drop the controversial E1 project to link Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement,

Smotrich’s settlement plans come as the international spotlight on Israel intensifies, with growing calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war amid mass concerns over the ongoing malnutrition crisis in Gaza and backlash over Netanyahu’s plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip.