Israel is moving forward with controversial plans to build thousands of new housing units in the occupied West Bank, splitting the territory in two, a scheme far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said would “permanently bury the idea of a Palestinian state.

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem, a move his office declared would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state.

MAALE ADUMIM, Israel (AP) — Israel’s far-right finance minister announced a contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts.