MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Israel has approved plans to build a new settlement in the occupied West Bank. The move has been almost universally condemned as the death knell for a future Palestinian state. For decades, Israeli settlers wanted the small tract of land just outside Jerusalem. Now politics and a close relationship with the Trump administration make annexing the land possible. NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam reports from the West Bank.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: From an elevated vantage point in the eastern part of Jerusalem, you can gaze out over the hills and valleys of the Judaean Desert - on a good day, as far as the Dead Sea. You also have a clear view of the West Bank, including a bare patch in the middle, roughly 4 1/2 square miles of land, known as E1.
NAOMI KAHN: What we're looking at here is essentially the only area surrounding Jerusalem on almost every side that is not completely dense with construction.
NORTHAM: Naomi Kahn is with the Regavim movement. It's behind the effort to build an Israeli settlement on E1. The contentious development has sat on the drawing board for more than two decades. Each time the issue came up, it was knocked back by the international community, including the U.S. But now Israel's government has approved the construction of 3,400 new housing units there.
KAHN: We're going to rename it in gratitude for all the wonderful things President Trump did for us. We're going to rename E1 T1 because the U.S. administration has not condemned Israel's plan to actually build this neighborhood.
NORTHAM: The West Bank is already a Swiss cheese of Israeli settlements, which are widely considered illegal by the international community. But E1 is particularly significant. Seizing that tract of land would be the last thread connecting the north of the territory to the south.
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BEZALEL SMOTRICH: (Non-English language spoken).
NORTHAM: On his Facebook site, Israel's ultra-nationalist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, crowed about getting approval for the new settlement. Michael Milstein, an analyst and former Israeli military intelligence officer, says Smotrich doesn't even try to hide his intentions.
MICHAEL MILSTEIN: Everyone actually understands that if you build something in E1, it means that your basic aim is that there will be no Palestinian state in the future.
NORTHAM: Among other things, the settlement plan will call for uprooting small communities already in the area.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHEEP BLEETING)
NORTHAM: A scorching wind blows through the tiny bedouin community of Kasarat, sending tiny dust storms swirling amongst the ramshackled tin-roofed buildings. About 200 people live in Kasarat. Abdullah Arara (ph), a shepherd, says he's been here for about 45 years.
ABDULLAH ARARA: (Non-English language spoken).
NORTHAM: Arara says he expects they'll be told to evacuate soon, and the buildings will be demolished. The community is already under pressure from settlers who have attacked other farms in the area and stolen the animals. Arara called the current government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a government of settlers.
ARARA: (Non-English language spoken).
NORTHAM: He says, "their big dream is for a greater Jerusalem under Israeli control." Analyst Milstein says ultra-right-wing religious ministers like Smotrich have enormous sway in the government. Netanyahu needs them to stay in power, and they're using the opportunity to reclaim all the land of biblical Israel.
MILSTEIN: Because of really crazy political conditions, Bezalel Smotrich, he's the one who actually leads the policy not only regarding the West Bank, but also about occupying Gaza City.
NORTHAM: Building is expected to begin on E1 in the coming year, and the government just approved another 17 settlements.
Jackie Northam, NPR News, the West Bank.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE SIX PARTS SEVEN'S "AWAITING ELEMENTAL MELTDOWN")
MARTIN: On MORNING EDITION tomorrow, we'll speak about the settlement plans with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE SIX PARTS SEVEN'S "AWAITING ELEMENTAL MELTDOWN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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