JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across land which the Palestinians seek for a state received final approval on Wednesday, according to a statement from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Israel approved a major settlement project on Wednesday in an area of the occupied West Bank that the international community has warned threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.Israel has long had ambitions to build on the roughly 12-square-kilometre (five-square-mile) parcel known as E1 just east of Jerusalem,

E1 project aims to split West Bank into 2 parts, cutting off northern cities of Ramallah and Nablus from Bethlehem and Hebron in south - Anadolu Ajansı

Thousands took to the streets across Israel on Sunday to start a nationwide general strike, backed by the families of the hostages, demanding a cease-fire deal to free the captives and end the war

Israel is studying Hamas' response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, two Israeli officials said on Tuesday, although one source reiterated that all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end.