Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a new settlement in the West Bank for the first time in more than two decades:

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision demonstrates once again he’s not serious about a two-state solution for peace. Recently, he has allowed the expansion of existing settlements, supported retroactively legalizing Israeli outposts built on private Palestinian land, demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes and is now pushing new settlements on land the Oslo Accords envisioned as a future Palestine.

“The situation in the West Bank is grave. There are nearly 400,000 settlers on 129 official settlements directly supported by the Israeli government. The vast majority of those settlements are east of the separation barrier, scattered throughout the West Bank making it impossible to create a contiguous Palestinian state.

“Israelis are already a minority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s continued expansion of settlements and outposts does not secure Israel, it perpetuates continued conflict with Palestinians. If settlement expansion continues, I’m afraid future Israelis will face a choice between democracy and a Jewish state.”