Israel gave final approval for a settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, which Palestinians say could dash hopes for a future Palestinian state.

L ONDON -- A controversial Israeli settlement plan that would effectively split the West Bank in two is gaining momentum after a key government committee -- the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration under the Defense Ministry -- gave its approval.

"Smotrich has never made a more accurate prediction," said Haaretz (Tel Aviv). The E1 apartments "would cut the West Bank in two" – separating north from south – while strangling the three central Palestinian cities of Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. That would be "a death sentence" for any two-state solution.