Israeli Jerusalem affairs minister Ze’ev Elkin has urged his government to start planning for one million settlers in Area C of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
“This will happen; it is only a question of when” Elkin said adding that it could be anywhere between the next 10 to 20 years depending on the pace of construction.
According to the Israeli central bureau of statistics 400000 settlers lived in West Bank settlements in 2016.
Using a word of Arabic slang Elkin dismissed the idea of a Palestinian state in the West Bank. “Halas (enough) with the story of two states. There is no other option but the state of Israel certainly between the Jordan [River] to the sea there will be one state.”
Elkin spoke in Jerusalem at a special conference on population growth in the West Bank and Jerusalem titled “On the Way to a Million” that was sponsored by Amana the construction arm of the settlement movement.
The current pace of housing of less than 3000 a year is not enough to allow for such a population spike Elkin said. Ultimately 100000-120000 new apartment units are needed he added.
Elkin urged the regional council to start preparing technical plans for settlers’ growth even if it seems as if the approvals would never happen.
