Israel Announces a Settlement That Critics Say Will Effectively Sever the West Bank in Two

5 days ago Israel’s far-right finance minister has announced approval of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts. The announcement comes as many countries said they would recognize a Palestinian state in September. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says the "reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize.”