Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Thursday that he had approved tenders for the construction of approximately 3,400 new housing units in the Samaria area near Jerusalem, declaring the move would put the “nail in the coffin” of a future Palestinian state.

According to Smotrich, the units are part of the long-stalled E-1 project, which would establish new Jewish communities between Jerusalem and its eastern suburb, the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.

Plans to build in this area have been frozen for decades due to international opposition, as the strip of land is considered highly strategic for the potential establishment of an independent Palestinian state.