JERUSALEM, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday 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,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank where thousands of new housing units would be added.

The move, coming two days after Israel tried to kill Hamas leaders in Qatar and was roundly condemned, may add to already strained relations with many of its allies.