India, Sept. 12 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday signalled his intentions about a Palestinian state, saying that there will never be any such thing in existence.

He also signed an agreement to push ahead with a controversial settlement expansion plan that would cut across land that the Palestinians seek for a state.

"There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours. We will safeguard our heritage, our land, and our security," AFP quoted Netanyahu as saying during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank, where thousands of new housing units would be added.

The controversial E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from the proposed Palestinian capital of East...