Israel approves plan to build 3,401 houses splitting West Bank into two

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved plans for splitting East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would "bury the idea" of a Palestinian state, Reuters news agency has reported. 

In a statement headlined "Burying the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister would give a press conference later on Thursday about the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem.