United Nations, June 30 (SANA) U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the unprecedented expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning that the trend has contributed to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the territory since 1967.
In his quarterly report on the West Bank, cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Guterres condemned the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, including the growth of settlement outposts, alongside rising settler violence and tighter restrictions on Palestinians’ access to their land.
The report said the developments were fueling tensions, reinforcing Israel’s unlawful occupation and undermining the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to an independent, sovereign state.
Guterres also warned that the proposed E1 settlement project poses an “existential threat” to the two-state solution because it would divide the West Bank into two separate areas.
The U.N. chief expressed deep concern over the scale of the forced displacement of Palestinians, saying settler violence, movement restrictions, demolitions and prolonged Israeli military operations had intensified, creating the largest displacement crisis in decades.
The report also criticized an increase in settler attacks carried out “with the support and protection” of Israeli forces and without accountability.
Separately, five European members of the U.N. Security Council—France, Britain, Greece, Latvia and Denmark—issued a joint statement ahead of a council meeting expressing deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and strongly condemning continued Israeli settlement activity.
Speaking on behalf of the five countries, France’s U.N. ambassador, Jérôme Bonnafont, called on Israel to halt settlement expansion, exercise its administrative authority, hold settlers responsible for acts of violence accountable and investigate allegations involving Israeli forces.
The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories to be illegal under international law, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its civilian population into occupied territory.
R.D/ABD
