UN Report Says Israeli Settlement Expansion in West Bank at Highest Level Since 2017
A report by the United Nations Chief showed that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank has reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the UN began systematically tracking such activity, according to AFP.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the “relentless” expansion, describing it as a catalyst for fueling tensions, restricting access by Palestinians to their land and undermining “the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State.”
Israel advanced, approved, or tendered plans for nearly 47,390 housing units in 2015, compared to 26,170 in 2024.
“These figures represent a sharp increase compared to previous years,” Guterres added.
Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and later annexed in 1967, the West Bank is home to approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers, alongside around three million Palestinians.
“These developments are further entrenching the unlawful Israeli occupation and violating international law and undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” Guterres added.
He also denounced the ongoing escalation of violence and tensions in the occupied West Bank, highlighting that Israeli operations in the northern West Bank have murdered a “high number” of people, displaced Palestinians and devastated homes and other infrastructure.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, violence in the West Bank has seen unprecedented levels.
Dividing West Bank
In August, Israel’s Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
During his visit to Maale Adumim, Smotrich revealed that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme, a long-delayed settlement.
“Whoever in the world is trying to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighborhoods,” Smotrich said.
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