Israel pushed for the discussion of the most politically sensitive settlement plan in the West Bank, despite the strong opposition of the US and the international community.
The Central Planning Committee in the Israeli Civil Administration of the West Bank will meet the following Monday to discuss the "E1" settlement plan dividing the West Bank into two parts, linking Jerusalem with the Maale Adumim settlement.
The Israeli Walla website said that the most politically sensitive project aims to prevent establishment of a future contiguous Palestinian state.
Walla said that the meeting would occur despite being postponed several times due to international pressure and fierce opposition, especially from the United States and Europe.
The US, the UN, and the EU have publicly rejected the project several times, saying it is destructive to the two-state solution.
The E1 is a vast settlement project approved in 1999 and extends over about 12,000 dunams of the occupied West Bank, most of which are lands declared by Israel as "state lands."
The project aims to connect Jerusalem with several Israeli settlements by confiscating Palestinian lands and establishing new settlements in the area between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.
The plan will further isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and create a continuous chain of illegal settlements extending from East Jerusalem to the Jordanian border.
It will impede the geographical contiguity between the north and south of the West Bank, separating it and making it impossible to establish a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian Authority believes the E1 is dangerous and has repeatedly threatened to take advanced steps, such as canceling agreements or withdrawing recognition of Israel if it implements the project.
An Israeli official said that the Subcommittee for Objections would discuss public objections to the plan, suggesting that it will not make any practical decisions regarding the building.
According to Israeli sources, Washington opposed the meeting and wants to prevent the slightest progress, which it believes thwarts the two-state solution.
By ending objections, Israel would have achieved a significant step towards removing obstacles and beginning the construction plans. Notably, the objections stage is the last in a series of steps before publishing tenders.
The Walla report stated that the session may exacerbate tensions with the US administration at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to improve his relations with the White House.
The Israeli "Peace Now" movement said that the most extremist and dangerous government in the country's history is eradicating any chance for a better future after it decided to allow the return to the Homesh settlement.
"They are again spitting in the faces of our American friends, and this reflects continued harm to the security and political interests of the State of Israel," the Israeli group Peace Now said.
Peace Now said Netanyahu was taking these steps to appease settler leaders in the West Bank who are allies of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the extreme-right Religious Zionism Party.
Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the report.
