The city of residence is located at the West Bank's "waist", which means that an expansion can divide the Palestinian area into two parts.
Making a Palestinian state impossible is an explicit goal for far-right parties in Israel, and Smotrich's press release has the title "To bury the idea of a Palestinian state", reports the news agency Reuters on its website.
However, it is unclear whether Smotrich has a mandate to approve the expansion, and if he has the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Smotrich himself says that the Prime Minister is behind the decision.
He supports me in everything that concerns Judea and Samaria, says Smotrich according to the Times of Israel and refers to the West Bank.
The Israeli government is expected to approve the plans next week, according to the newspaper Haaretz.
The EU urges Israel to refrain from going ahead with the plan.
"Israel's decision to go ahead with the settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution while violating international law", says the Union's Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas in a statement.
Ma'ale Adumim was founded in the 70s, and today has over 30,000 inhabitants. It has not yet been expanded so much that the northern and southern West Bank are separated from each other. But it is considered a foundation for a Palestinian state-building that Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, south of it, are geographically connected.
