UN slams Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements in occupied West Bank

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Israeli plans to accelerate the development of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Guterres said in a statement released on Monday that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory have “no legal validity” and constitute a “flagrant violation” of international law. His criticism comes amid escalating violence in the West Bank as well as Israeli plans to legalise existing outposts and establish new ones.

Guterres said the settlements remain a major obstacle to a two-state solution and to a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace” between Israelis and Palestinians.

The secretary-general’s statement builds on repeated UN and partner agency warnings over Israeli settlement policy in recent months. The organisations have called for civilian protection and accountability for perpetrators under international humanitarian and human rights law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his government would be “accelerating the legalisation of farm outposts and establishment of new ones” in the occupied West Bank.

All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law, a position reaffirmed in a 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion that found Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful.

Outposts are small settlements, normally established without state approval and therefore illegal under Israeli law, too.

Since Thursday, at least eight Palestinians, including a child, as well as two Israelis, have been killed amid the violence in the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlers, often under the protection of Israeli forces, burned or vandalised Palestinian civilian infrastructure, public spaces, and agricultural structures. At least 10 Palestinian families have been displaced.

As of Saturday, Israeli forces or settlers had killed 77 Palestinians this year, including 18 children, while three Israelis were killed by Palestinians over the same period.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented more than 1,330 settler-related incidents involving casualties or property damage since January.

Israeli forces have also tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement across the territory, cutting off thousands of people from emergency medical care and their livelihoods, according to OCHA.

In February, Guterres criticised Israel’s decision to resume land registration processes in the West Bank, a move rights groups said would further entrench settlement expansion.

Earlier this month, UN officials also warned that the surge in settler violence across the West Bank was unfolding in parallel with intensifying Israeli attacks in Gaza, as displacement and civilian casualties mounted on both fronts.