<\/p>\n
29 September 2025<\/p>\n
10007th Meeting (AM)<\/p>\n
In the shadow of the nearly two-year war in Gaza and an intensifying ground offensive in Gaza City, settlement construction has accelerated and settler violence continues in the West Bank, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates warned that such defiance of international law and United Nations resolutions further undermine the prospects for peace and the two-State solution.<\/p>\n
Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, reported<\/a> that, despite the mandate of Council resolution\u00a02334 (2016), which calls on Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, \u201csettlement has nevertheless accelerated\u201d.<\/p>\n He reported that, during the period from 18\u00a0June to 19\u00a0September, the Israeli planning authorities advanced or approved approximately 20,810\u00a0housing units in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.\u00a0Moreover, on 2\u00a0July, 15\u00a0Israeli ministers and the speaker of the Knesset signed a petition calling for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, and on 23\u00a0July, the Knesset adopted a non-binding motion calling for the \u2018application of Israeli sovereignty\u2019 across all settlements in the West Bank.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Government of Israel must abide by its obligations under international law,\u201d he stressed, recalling the 19\u00a0July\u00a02024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which declared that Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers and bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible.<\/p>\n Citing the Secretary-General, he called the E1 plan \u201ca calamitous development\u201d, which, if implemented, would further undermine the contiguity of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State.\u00a0This would increase the risk of forced displacement and fuel tensions, he added, noting that Palestinian attacks against Israelis also continued.\u00a0 He welcomed the mediators\u2019 continued efforts and urged all sides to end hostilities immediately.<\/p>\n Recalling the Israeli Government\u2019s 8\u00a0August decision to take control of Gaza City, he said Palestinians have faced heavy bombardment since late August, resulting in high numbers of casualties.\u00a0 They also face displacement, demolitions and crippling movement and access restrictions that stifle the economy and severely limit access to employment, hospitals, schools and agricultural land.\u00a0 \u201cThese policies are further fuelling frustration and hopelessness while severely undermining the Palestinian Authority,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Further citing the Secretary-General, he stressed: \u00a0\u201cThe continued devastation and misery on the ground, particularly over the past two years, have reinforced the absolute need for Israelis, Palestinians, regional States and the broader international community to take urgent steps that will end the unlawful occupation and enable the parties to re-engage on the long-delayed political path to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in line with international law and UN resolutions, realizing a two-State solution [\u2026]\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a collective duty to bring this suffering to an end,\u201d echoed the Permanent\u00a0Observer for the State of Palestine, stressing that what his people need is \u201cnot a pause to the violence and injustice, but an end to it\u201d.\u00a0 Noting that the dark reality of life in Palestine under Israel\u2019s illegal occupation is \u201cman-made, occupation made\u201d, he declared: \u00a0\u201cOur people are not less worthy and not less entitled\u201d to the inalienable rights endowed to all peoples\u201d.<\/p>\n He affirmed Palestine\u2019s commitment to peace, which must be \u201ca shared objective to become a shared reality\u201d. \u00a0Recalling the just concluded high-level week \u201cmainly focused on Palestine\u201d, he thanked the many countries who galvanized support for an independent and sovereign State of Palestine in pursuit of the two-State solution.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to make all of it a reality,\u201d he urged.\u00a0\u201cThe decisions we make today will determine the fate of the peoples of the region for generations to come and the face of the Middle East for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s representative, however, challenged that narrative, highlighting his country\u2019s efforts to dismantle terrorist strongholds in Gaza, while unloading between 250 and 308\u00a0trucks of humanitarian aid daily. \u00a0The terror threat in the West Bank is \u201creal and imminent\u201d, he warned, describing \u201chidden workshops of death\u201d where rockets and weapons aimed at families, schools and cities were being built.\u00a0 His country recognizes the same methods used in Gaza 20\u00a0years ago, he noted, when rockets developed in such workshops \u201cmultiplied into thousands raining down on Israeli towns for years\u201d. \u00a0\u201cWe will not repeat that mistake in Judea and Samaria, neither should this Council,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n He rejected claims that Hamas was absent from the West Bank, noting that \u201cearlier this month Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack at a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem\u201d. \u00a0He also accused Iran of \u201carming, funding and coordinating terror\u201d in the West Bank. \u00a0The Palestinian Authority\u2019s \u201cpay to slay policy\u201d has for more than a decade paid monthly stipends to terrorists in prison and their families, he pointed out. \u00a0This policy consumes \u201cabout 8\u00a0per\u00a0cent of the Palestinian Authority\u2019s entire budget\u201d \u2014 more than $300\u00a0million every year. \u00a0Rejecting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas\u2019 claim of reform, he stressed: \u00a0\u201cEnough with the lies, stop the payments.\u201d<\/p>\n The representative of the United States criticized today\u2019s meeting as another instance of the Council\u2019s \u201cobsessive focus on Israel\u201d, which undermines the serious work needed to resolve peace and security issues. \u00a0Council resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016) \u201cwrongly delegitimizes Israel\u201d and denies the reality that Jerusalem is its lawful capital. \u00a0Highlighting his country\u2019s mediation efforts, he placed responsibility for ending the war on Hamas, which rejected the reasonable offer to make peace and remains undesignated by the UN as a terrorist group.\u00a0 He also criticized Council members for \u201cunilaterally recognizing a Palestinian State\u201d.\u00a0 Rather than \u201creward Hamas\u201d, the Council should \u201cpressure it to end the bloodshed, disarm and give Gazans a chance for a peaceful life\u201d.<\/p>\n Other delegations, however, underscored the urgency of Palestinian statehood and voiced alarm about Israel\u2019s plans to annex the West Bank. \u00a0The United Kingdom\u2019s representative recalled her country\u2019s formal recognition of the State of Palestine last week and stressed that a two-State solution remains the only viable path to peace and security for both Israeli and Palestinians. \u00a0\u201cIsraeli annexation of the West Bank cannot be allowed to happen,\u201d she added, calling on Israel to halt the expansion of illegal settlements.<\/p>\n The representative of France warned that the annexation plans compromise Israeli long-term security and alienate prospects of regional peace. \u00a0His country is \u201cstepping up pressure on Israel\u201d, including through the imposition of new sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for illegal settlement expansion and violence.<\/p>\n Council members also underlined the 15-member organ\u2019s responsibility to ensure that Israel complies fully with resolution\u00a02334 (2016). \u00a0Guyana\u2019s representative stressed that the approval of the E1 settlement plan and Israel\u2019s determination to go forward with construction in the area \u201cshould not be met with silence from the Council\u201d.\u00a0She also urged strong and decisive action in response to Israel\u2019s \u201cdaring declaration\u201d that the Palestinian State is being \u2018erased not by slogans but by deeds\u2019 and the occupying Power\u2019s \u201cother illegalities\u201d in the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a duty to enable Palestinians to exercise their legal rights and establish their State \u2014 we must do this before no land remains upon which to establish Palestine,\u201d emphasized Algeria\u2019s delegate.<\/p>\n The Russian Federation\u2019s representative, recalling United States President Donald Trump\u2019s statement that \u201che would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank\u201d, said \u201cwe should like to hope that these words will be followed up by concrete action\u201d. \u00a0Similarly, China\u2019s representative stressed that \u201cthe country with the special influence on Israel must assume its corresponding responsibility in earnest\u201d.\u00a0Gaza and the West Bank are the homeland of the Palestinian people and must not become \u201ca sacrifice of international politics\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Somalia\u2019s delegate noted that the recent report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) identified over 150\u00a0business enterprises, both Israeli and international, that are supporting or sustaining illegal settlements.\u00a0 \u201cSuch involvement complicates the occupation and presents significant ethical and legal concerns,\u201d he pointed out. \u00a0Sierra Leone\u2019s representative, on that note, stressed that perpetrators of settler violence must be held accountable.<\/p>\n The representative of Greece drew attention to Christian communities in the West Bank who are facing settlement expansion and settler violence.\u00a0 \u201cThey need to stop now,\u201d she stressed. \u00a0Urging a large-scale and sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, she called for further strengthening of initiatives such as the Jordanian air corridor and the Cyprus-led Amalthea maritime project.<\/p>\n Delegates also reiterated their calls for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and unhindered humanitarian aid. \u00a0Panama\u2019s delegate deplored the \u201cunconscionable proportions\u201d that the humanitarian situation has reached, due to the postponing of a political solution.\u00a0 \u201cNo military goal can justify turning food into a weapon of oppression and control,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n The Republic of Korea\u2019s representative, Council President for September, speaking in his national capacity, noted that while Israel has the right to protect itself, for the last two years, the fundamental principles of international law \u2014 including those of proportionality, distinction and precaution \u2014 have not been adequately observed.<\/p>\n Denmark\u2019s delegate, looking ahead to a post-conflict Gaza, welcomed President Abbas\u2019 commitment to democratic reform and confirmation that Hamas will have no role in Gaza.\u00a0 Voicing concern over the Palestinian Authority\u2019s deteriorating finances, she noted her country\u2019s $8\u00a0million contribution to the emergency coalition for Palestine and called on Israel to release withheld tax revenues.<\/p>\n Underlining a global call for peace, Slovenia\u2019s delegate said, \u201cwe also hear voices for peace in Israel\u201d, referring to families of hostages calling for a ceasefire and many Israelis who understand that their safety and future are intertwined with the safety and future of Palestinians.\u00a0 While Hamas is not a partner for peace, \u201cwe hear Jewish voices around the globe emphasizing that peace cannot be achieved through war\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 29 September 2025 10007th Meeting (AM) In the shadow of the nearly two-year war in Gaza and an intensifying ground offensive in Gaza City, settlement construction has accelerated and settler violence continues in the West Bank, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates warned that such defiance of international 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We Need Is Not a Pause to Violence and Injustice, but an End to It\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Terror Threat in West Bank is \u2018Real and Imminent\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Two-State Solution Remains Only Viable Path to Peace, Security<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Israel Cannot Be Allowed to Annex West Bank<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\u2018No Military Goal Can Justify Turning Food into Weapon of Oppression\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n