United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including West Bank, poses a major obstacle to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“I reiterate my call on Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity, which is a major obstacle to the achievement of the [so-called] two-state solution, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace,” Guterres said at the 2021 Opening Session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Thursday.
He said the primary duty of the committee is “to end the occupation and realize a two-state solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, in line with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, and bilateral agreements.”
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
According to human rights groups, acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the occupied West Bank.
The UN chief called on the parties involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “to refrain from unilateral acts that can jeopardize the possibility of restarting the peace process.”
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