Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his vow that there will be no Palestinian state during a signing ceremony for a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank. He stated, "We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us."

• The announcement was made at Maale Adumim, an Israeli settlement just east of Jerusalem.
• The project involves building on the roughly 12 square kilometre (five square mile) tract of land known as E1.
• UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the settlement plans, warning they would "effectively cleave the West Bank in two and pose an existential threat" to a contiguous Palestinian state.
• All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law.
• Several Western governments, including Britain and France, plan to recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations this month.