{"id":306479,"date":"2025-03-21T12:24:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T16:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=306479"},"modified":"2025-03-24T12:24:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T16:24:49","slug":"security-council-speakers-warn-of-gazafication-of-west-bank-urge-israel-to-end-illegal-settlements-occupation-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/security-council-speakers-warn-of-gazafication-of-west-bank-urge-israel-to-end-illegal-settlements-occupation-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Council Speakers Warn of \u2018Gazafication\u2019 of West Bank, Urge Israel to End Illegal Settlements, Occupation – Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"
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9883rd Meeting (AM)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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SC\/16025<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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21 March 2025<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Israeli West Bank Operations Aimed at Dismantling Iran\u2019s Terror Networks, Says Delegate<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Speakers in the Security Council today warned of the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank and its \u201cGazafication\u201d amid Israel\u2019s ongoing counter-terrorism operations, which its representative described as efforts to dismantle Iran\u2019s terror networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relentless expansion of Israeli settlements is dramatically altering the landscape and demographics of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, presenting an existential threat to the prospect of a contiguous, viable, independent Palestinian State,\u201d said Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim. Presenting the latest Secretary-General\u2019s report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) \u2014 a measure calling on Israel to \u201cimmediately and completely cease all settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem\u201d \u2014 she pointed out that settlement activity has nevertheless continued at a high rate, with Israeli planning authorities advancing or approving approximately 10,600 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank, including 4,920 in East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Demolitions and seizures of Palestinian-owned structures accelerated across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, she continued, reporting that Israeli authorities demolished 460 structures and displaced 576 people, including 287 children and 149 women, because they did not possess Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. Meanwhile, \u201calarming levels\u201d of violence continued, with 123 Palestinians, including 6 women and 19 children, killed amidst Israeli forces\u2019 air strikes, operations, armed exchanges and other incidents, she said, adding: \u201cMost Palestinians were killed in the context of Israeli operations in Area A, including during exchanges of fire with armed Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s largest operation in the occupied West Bank since 2002 began on 21 January and has since expanded across the northern West Bank in what Israeli authorities described as a counter-terrorism operation, displacing 40,000 people, she continued. On 9 February, Israeli operations expanded into Nur Shams Camp in Tulkarem where Israel Defense Forces soldiers shot and killed two Palestinian women, one of whom was pregnant, she said, adding that two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli soldiers in incidents in Jenin and Hebron on 21 February, bringing the total number of children killed to eight across the occupied West Bank since the operation began. Detailing other developments in the occupied West Bank, including widespread movement restrictions, the arrest of 1,711 Palestinians, settler-related violence in 11 Palestinian towns and villages, and Palestinian attacks against Israelis, she called on both parties to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric, which has, unfortunately continued.<\/p>\n

Echoing the Secretary-General\u2019s observations on the implementation of resolution 2334 (2016), she drew attention to the emptying out of refugee camps in the northern West Bank during Israeli operations. She also voiced concern that any long-term presence of Israeli security forces in the camps would further undermine the Palestinian Authority and contravene Israel\u2019s obligation to end its unlawful continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n

Clear Response Needed at International Conference in June<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIsrael\u2019s goal has always been maximum Palestinian land with minimum Palestinians,\u201d said the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, adding: \u201cInstead of ending its occupation, it is attempting to end the occupied people.\u201d Pointing to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the \u201cmost massive ethnic-cleansing campaign since 1967\u201d in the northern West Bank, displacing 40,000 Palestinians in weeks, he underscored the need for accountability, emphasizing: \u201cConfronted with this unprecedented Israeli escalation, there must be an unprecedented escalation of international measures in response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voicing concern that Israel aims to entrench its occupation, rather than reverse or end it, he spotlighted the International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in June, hoping it would be a platform for mobilization and action. \u201cIsrael\u2019s intentions have never been clearer. The international response needs to be equally clear,\u201d he emphasized, calling for \u201cunprecedented decisions by States\u201d to change the course of history.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s delegate, denouncing \u201cmorally obscene\u201d remarks equating Israeli hostages with Palestinian terrorists \u201clegally arrested by Israel\u201d, said his country had \u201cno choice\u201d but to act decisively, considering Hamas\u2019 rejection of the offer to release the remaining hostages for a continued ceasefire. It has struck targets with precision, eliminating \u201carch-terrorists\u201d such as Mahmoud Abu Watfa, head of Hamas\u2019 internal security forces and Issam al-Daalis, head of Hamas\u2019 Government in Gaza. The group has a choice: \u201cCome back to the table and negotiate or wait and watch as its leadership falls one by one.\u201d<\/p>\n

His country\u2019s operations in \u201cJudea and Samaria\u201d intend to break down Iran\u2019s terror networks there, he continued, citing 2,000 attempted terror attacks originating there over 11 months. The Palestinian Authority left the job of \u201ctaking care of the terror cells\u201d in [refugee] camps in Jenin and Tulkarm to his country, he said, stressing that terrorists will be given no sanctuary, in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Yemen or Iran.<\/p>\n

United States Dismisses Passage of Resolution 2334 (2016) as \u2018Mistake\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The United States\u2019 delegate, characterizing the passage of the Council resolution 2334 (2016) as \u201ca mistake\u201d, called on the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General to join the United States in putting pressure on Hamas. Just as Hamas could end the war by releasing the hostages, Iran \u201ccould chose to join the community of nations by ending its support for terrorist proxy groups and providing transparency on its nuclear programme\u201d, she added, reiterating her Government\u2019s support for the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian Authority Security Forces in rooting out extremists in Jenin and Tulkarm. \u201cThe future of the Middle East must look different. Fresh thinking is needed for a better tomorrow,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s representative, however, stated that the reason evoked by Israel to justify its new massive bombardments does not hold water, and delays in the hostages\u2019 release cannot justify the punishment of the entire people. Noting that settlements in the West Bank are becoming more violent, with active participation of Israeli security forces, he reiterated that France opposes any annexation in the West Bank or Gaza. To that end, his Government has been working with all countries to find a mechanism and to use ceasefire as a starting point for resuming dialogue.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s representative warned that \u201cdaily military raids, settler violence and illegal land annexations are part of a systematic effort to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people in the West Bank,\u201d he said. The Security Council, and the world community, cannot sit back and watch this ongoing ethnic cleansing. \u201cA failure to halt this brutal war will unleash the worst instinct of powerful and predatory States,\u201d he said, urging the elected Council members to initiate measures to end \u201cthis cruel war\u201d. Somalia\u2019s delegate called on States to present a united front against forced demographic changes, displacement from Palestinian communities or attempts to annex territories in either Gaza or the West Bank, a point echoed by China\u2019s delegate, who urged Israel to \u201cabandon its obsession with the use of force\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unchecked Settlements Darken Prospect of Palestine\u2019s Statehood<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Many speakers echoed alarm over the threat posed by unchecked settlement activities in the West Bank to the prospects for Palestinian statehood, with the representative of Denmark, Council President for March, who spoke in her national capacity, stating that such developments \u201crob Palestinians of their land, [and] push them into isolated enclaves, making it virtually impossible to form a connected and viable land for a future Palestinian State\u201d. Any unilateral attempt to change the geography of the occupied Palestinian territories is unacceptable, she said, stating that some settlements come about through settler violence. She added: \u201cWe have the frameworks. What is needed is full implementation of resolution 2334 (2016).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been witnessing what many are calling the Gazafication of the West Bank,\u201d echoed Slovenia\u2019s delegate, noting that, not only dights, but also dynamics \u201cremind us of Gaza\u201d. \u201cThe one radical solution is a real peace,\u201d he said, calling for the end of occupation and return of displaced persons. Pages of history already written, including those contained in the reports of accountability mechanisms, must be a wake-up call for a new chapter to take place, he added.<\/p>\n

Greece\u2019srepresentative, calling the Arab plan for Gaza\u2019s recovery and reconstruction \u201ca constructive proposal\u201d, deplored the increase of settlement activity in the West Bank, a concern echoed by the representative of the Republic of Korea, who called the ongoing violence and vandalism by Israeli settlers unacceptable.<\/p>\n

On that, the representative of the United Kingdom highlighted three rounds of sanctions on violent settlers and their supporters imposed by his country to bring accountability for abuses of human rights, in the absence of sufficient Israeli action. \u201cThe level of restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank are crippling,\u201d he observed, underscoring the importance of ensuring that religious freedoms are respected, especially during Ramadan.<\/p>\n

Many speakers emphasized the urgent need for progress towards a political solution, including the delegates of Guyana and Panama, with the latter stating that, in the future, Gaza \u2014 free from extremist groups, together with the West Bank and East Jerusalem \u2014 can be integrated into a territorial and political structure. Sierra Leone\u2019srepresentative, also calling for the political process to be revitalized, expressed hope for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, guided by the proposal tabled by the League of Arab States in Egypt.<\/p>\n

Noting that the West Bank \u201crisks repeating the Gaza scenario\u201d, the representative of the Russian Federation underscored that what is happening in the West Bank is a \u201cgood illustration\u201d that there is no alternative to political solutions. Israel\u2019s settlement actions are aimed to undermine a two-State solution, he said, adding that, while Israel is using \u201ccrude force\u201d to ensure their security, he said it is not surprising that the radical forces are popular among regular Palestinians. The only sensible alternative is for Israel to return to negotiations, he noted, stating that the Council can and should play a role in this process.<\/p>\n

Algeria\u2019s delegate said that the Israeli occupying Power\u2019s objective in the West Bank is clear: total sovereignty over it. Their modus operandi is also well-known: killing, forced demolition, displacement, dispossession and settlement. Over 40,000 people have been forcibly displaced in the past two months in the West Bank. Striking a note of urgency, he asked: \u201cWhen will we rise to the level of our obligations and impose respect and implementation for our collective decision to establish a Palestinian State with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rounding out the meeting, the representative of Jordan recalled that the Arab League summit held in Cairo at the beginning of the month confirmed the bloc\u2019s rejection of any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from their occupied lands, and approved the Gaza Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan presented by Egypt. This is a comprehensive Arab plan, based on joint Egyptian-Palestinian efforts, to organize an international conference on recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, in cooperation with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, he said. Deploring the dangerous escalation in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, marked by recurrent military incursions into Palestinian towns, population displacements and home demolitions, he called on the Council and the international community to address these violations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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