Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction, which is expected to receive final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans.

(Reuters) -Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans overnight for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state.

Israel plans to expand settlements into an area of the West Bank that would effectively bisect the enclave — a move its finance minister said “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Both ministers, and their sizeable constituencies, want a full Israeli seizure of all of Gaza, the “razing” of Gaza City, and what they describe as the “voluntary” migration of Gaza’s population, once the territory has been rendered uninhabitable.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that to destroy Hamas, Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip and eventually transfer its administration to friendly Arab forces.

Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has approved the framework of a plan for a new offensive in Gaza. CBS News Middle East correspondent Courtney Kealy has the latest details.

Pezeshkian's response came as Netanyahu addressed Iranians in a video message on Tuesday, pledging that Israel would help solve the country’s severe water shortages once Iran is “free” from the current government.

Pezeshkian, on Sunday (Aug 10), told a group of officials that “we do not have water, we do not have water under our feet, and we do not have water behind our dams, so you tell me what do we do? Someone comes and tells me what do I have to do?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to dangle an incentive in front of the Iranian people as they face a water crisis.