Terrorist Jew Netanyahu–‘There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours’

Jpost

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an ‘umbrella agreement’ on Thursday to push ahead with a controversial settlement expansion plan that would cut across land in the West Bank that the Palestinians seek for a future state.

‘There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours,’ Netanyahu said during a visit to Ma’aleh Adumim in the West Bank, where thousands of new housing units would be added to an already sprawling city of some 37,000 inhabitants.

‘We will safeguard our heritage, our land, and our security.’

Netanyahu was joined by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Construction and Housing Minister Haim Katz, Mayor Guy Yifrah, Construction and Housing Ministry Director-General Yehuda Morgenstern, and other senior officials.

The agreement includes the addition of 7,606 housing units on state land and an investment of approximately NIS 3 billion in infrastructure development, public institutions, and the renewal of older neighborhoods. It also provides for the construction of commercial and employment areas spanning 20,000 sq.m.

Under the plan Ma’aleh Adumim’s population is expected to double. A cooperation framework developed between the Construction and Housing Ministry and the municipality aims to ensure long-term planning, high-quality infrastructure, and the successful integration of new residents.

This marks the city’s largest development plan since its establishment in 1975. Of the NIS 3 billion investment, NIS 420 million is designated for infrastructure upgrades – including roads, drainage, water, sewerage, electricity, and transportation – to support the new neighborhoods. Another NIS 340m. will be used for building public institutions and enhancing community services in both new and older neighborhoods.

Katz said the plan represented an ‘historic agreement in Judea and Samaria’ and aligns with his policy of boosting investment in settlements.

‘Next Sunday, I will convene the Israel Land Council to approve the extension of the Discounted Apartment program, which will allow marketing thousands of apartments at an 80% discount in Ma’aleh Adumim, with 50% reserved for reservists and 25% for combat soldiers,’ he said.

‘I am working to promote a government decision to expand marketing, with development subsidies for municipalities in general and for Ma’aleh Adumim in particular, with a dedicated budget of NIS 10m. Today’s signing joins a series of agreements we have signed recently, after a year of stagnation in the North, the Center, and the periphery, to expand the housing supply, improve the urban space, and improve service to the citizen.’

Mayor Yifrah called the agreement a pivotal moment in the city’s development.

‘This is the city where I was born, and this is my life’s mission – to build and lead Ma’aleh Adumim forward,’ he said. ‘For more than 20 years, no new neighborhood has been built here, and today, in the city’s jubilee year, we are signing a historic roof agreement that grants the city an enormous horizon for growth. We will build new neighborhoods, renew the older ones, invest in infrastructure and the community, and most importantly, keep this city a city of people, of spirit, and of vision.’

Morgenstern said the plan would bolster Ma’aleh Adumim’s status.

‘The agreement in Ma’aleh Adumim is a significant step in strengthening housing solutions nationwide and a major move in transforming Ma’aleh Adumim into an attractive, accessible, and inviting city for new populations,’ he said. ‘Umbrella agreements are an important tool for the housing market, providing a comprehensive response for the local authority to both increase total marketing in the city and improve infrastructure and public spaces for residents.’

Western capitals and campaign groups have opposed the settlement project due to concerns that it could undermine a future peace deal with the Palestinians.