The United Nations human rights office declared Friday that Israel's plan to construct thousands of new settlement units in the occupied West Bank violates international law and constitutes a potential war crime. The condemnation came after Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced approval of nearly 7,000 housing units that would effectively divide the West Bank and cut off East Jerusalem from Palestinian territories.
Smotrich, who leads Israel's far-right Religious Zionism party, said Thursday the settlement expansion would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state" because "there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize". The plan focuses on the contentious E1 area east of Jerusalem, including approximately 3,500 apartments to expand the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israeli authorities to "immediately halt the advancement of this process," with his spokesperson stating that the settlements violate international law and would "systematically erode the viability of a Palestinian State as part of a two-State solution". The UN human rights office went further, declaring it "a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".
Germany's Foreign Ministry also condemned the plan Friday, saying it "firmly rejects" the settlement construction and warning it would "further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half". The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the decision "a breach of international law" that "further undermines the two-state solution".
Strategic Implications
The E1 corridor has been frozen for years due to international opposition, as development there would create a physical barrier between Palestinian communities in the northern and southern West Bank while isolating East Jerusalem. About 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The announcement comes as France, the UK, and Canada prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September. Smotrich praised President Trump and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee as "true friends of Israel," suggesting American support for the settlement expansion.
If approved by the Israeli government next week, infrastructure work could begin within months, with home construction starting in approximately one year.
Smotrich, who leads Israel's far-right Religious Zionism party, said Thursday the settlement expansion would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state" because "there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize". The plan focuses on the contentious E1 area east of Jerusalem, including approximately 3,500 apartments to expand the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israeli authorities to "immediately halt the advancement of this process," with his spokesperson stating that the settlements violate international law and would "systematically erode the viability of a Palestinian State as part of a two-State solution". The UN human rights office went further, declaring it "a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".
Germany's Foreign Ministry also condemned the plan Friday, saying it "firmly rejects" the settlement construction and warning it would "further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half". The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the decision "a breach of international law" that "further undermines the two-state solution".
Strategic Implications
The E1 corridor has been frozen for years due to international opposition, as development there would create a physical barrier between Palestinian communities in the northern and southern West Bank while isolating East Jerusalem. About 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The announcement comes as France, the UK, and Canada prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September. Smotrich praised President Trump and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee as "true friends of Israel," suggesting American support for the settlement expansion.
If approved by the Israeli government next week, infrastructure work could begin within months, with home construction starting in approximately one year.