Key points
- Settlements violate international law and UN resolutions
- E1 plan threatens West Bank’s territorial continuity
- UN urges Israel to halt all settlement activity immediately
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Secretary-General has condemned the decision of the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to grant approval for more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank.
A statement issued by Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General stated: Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are a violation of international law and run directly counter to United Nations resolutions.
“Existential threat”
“The advancement of this project is an existential threat to the two-State solution. It would sever the northern and southern West Bank and have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” it said.
Secretary-General @antonioguterres condemns the decision of the Higher Planning Committee to grant approval for more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank.
Full statement: https://t.co/geYpkl02xH
— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) August 21, 2025
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the Government of Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity and to comply fully with its obligations under international law and to act in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and in line with the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024,” the statement said.
Call for “immediate ceasefire”
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General has reiterated that it is vital to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
READ ALSO: Jewish Scholars, Experts Say Gaza Crisis Meets Definition of Genocide
“I must reiterate that it is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause,” he said.
I must reiterate that it is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.
– @antonioguterres: https://t.co/AddSK0leiS pic.twitter.com/6jPlT0YqCE— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) August 21, 2025
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that Defence Minister Israel Katz approved plans to begin operations in some of Gaza’s most densely populated areas, and that it would call up 60,000 reservists and lengthen the service of an additional 20,000 reservists, according to Al Jazeera.
