Failure to Implement Own Decisions Poses ‘Existential’ Question, Briefer Tells Security Council, as Delegates Urge Israel to Cease Illegal Settlements
The relentless expansion of Israeli settlements and escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are deeply alarming, the top United Nations official for the Middle East told the Security Council today, as delegates urged the organ to enforce its own demand for the occupier to cease such illegal activities.
“Israeli policies and practices are systematically altering the land in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, creating dangerous dynamics and an existential threat to the two-state solution,” said Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process in his briefing to the 15-member Council covering developments from 11 June to 11 September.
In total, some 6,370 housing units were advanced or approved in settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, he said. Citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, “which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain”, Israeli authorities demolished, seized, or forced people to demolish 373 structures, displacing 553 people, including 247 children.
“I reiterate that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law,” he stressed, highlighting the international community’s growing demand to end such activities, as set out in Council resolution 2334 (2016) and the 19 July advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.
From 28 August to 6 September, the Israel Defense Forces conducted its largest operation in the occupied West Bank since 2002, stating that it was targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members and infrastructure, he continued. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed.
“The failure to implement Council resolution 2334 (2016) poses an existential question,” said Helen Clark, Member of the Elders, asking if the organ can enforce its own resolutions. Council members who question the binding status of their body's resolutions or use their veto to protect an ally are not only eroding the Council's authority, but also undermining their long-term interests. Welcoming Wednesday’s adoption of the General Assembly resolution concerning the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on this matter, she asked: “How will the Council respond to the advisory opinion?”
Proposing a set of guiding principles to underpin a pathway towards sustainable peace, she said that full UN membership and recognition of the State of Palestine should be supported by all Council members and other States. “Statehood is not dependent on peace negotiations […] and should not have to wait for governance reforms,” she said, adding that the security of Palestinians and Israelis must be given equal weighting. “Israel’s security concerns do not justify unlawful occupation or annexation,” she emphasized.
The Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said that both the International Court of Justice and the General Assembly acted — “because there are no veto powers in these two institutions”, asking: “Will the Security Council follow them?” The Assembly adopted the 18 September resolution — “the first-ever presented by the State of Palestine”, he noted — because the Council failed to exercise its primary responsibility. Eight years have passed since the adoption of resolution 2334 (2016), over which Israel has violated the text — just like every other — persisting in its breaches of the most-fundamental rules of international law. Urging the Council to ensure respect for its resolutions, he underscored that anyone who expects Palestinians to “coexist with their chains” is “truly misguided”.
Israel’s delegate stressed the need for his country to defend itself, including in the West Bank, from “the most oppressive regime in the world” — Iran, which is flooding Judea and Samaria with explosives, grenades and advanced weaponry to turn them into “another Gaza”. There is no territorial dispute, no shared resources and no violent history. “The only reason is their fanatical ideology, festering hatred against the existence of our religion and State,” he said. Iran's grand ambition is “the creation of a Shiite supremacist empire” across the Middle East and beyond, through proxies including Hizbullah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis. The Palestinian Authority is “actively collaborating with these terrible networks,” he said, adding that it still refuses to condemn Hamas.
In the discussion among Council members, the representative of the United States highlighted impediments to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unilateral measures — such as settlements and “one-sided resolutions in New York” — will not bring about a two-State solution, he said, citing the ceasefire deal as “the best chance to tackle the humanitarian crisis and address regional stability”. Condemning Hamas’ total indifference to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, he said that the Council should encourage Hamas to accept the deal on the table. He also observed that Israel’s programme of support for the expansion of settlements is inconsistent with international law and only serves to weaken Israel’s security.
The representative of the Russian Federation said that Israeli leadership — thanks to the United States — is achieving its objective to expel the West Bank's Palestinian population. More and more settler outposts are being established and Palestinian homes are being demolished. And “yet, none of our Western colleagues have voiced any concern about the erasure of Palestinian identity”, he stressed. The United States continues to block any attempts to set out a just assessment of Israel’s actions. Council members must summon political will and courage and adopt a decision for a ceasefire in Gaza and measures to enforce compliance. “Pressure needs to be exerted, not so much on Hamas, but rather on our American colleagues who continue to regard both the Council and multilateral diplomacy as an unneeded burden,” he said.
The region is “on the edge of an abyss”, warned Algeria’s delegate. The Israeli occupying Power is relentlessly pursuing ethnic cleansing in Gaza and creating a new fait accompli in the West Bank. The International Court of Justice advisory opinion states that the precise modalities for ending Israel's unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory are matters for the Assembly and the Council to address, he said, urging the latter to act.
Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of Slovenia — Council President for September — spoke in her national capacity, expressing hope that peace returns to Gaza and the West Bank. For that, she underscored that “negative trends must be met with positive and concrete steps”. Mothers should be able to send their children to school without teaching them how to use a shelter and without worrying if they will be detained.
Other Member States expressed deep alarm at Israel’s growing settlement activity with the representative of Malta observing that the situation in the occupied West Bank has degraded “rapidly and steadily”. Since 7 October 2023, Israeli incursions into Palestinian cities regularly comprise military operations, which include air strikes, destruction of infrastructure and the unlawful use of force. Guyana’s representative underscored that the danger of Israeli settler policy lies in the fact that it is intended to alter the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territories. “France will never recognize the illegal annexation of territory, nor the legalization of illegal settlements,” added its representative.
Speakers further spotlighted the pain Israel’s illegal settlement policies cause to Palestinians. The representative of Sierra Leone said that the resumption of violence in the Northern West Bank in the Tulkarm, Nur Shams and El Far’a camps, has suspended access of basic services to civilians. The United Kingdom’s delegate expressed alarm that an increasing number of Israeli settlers use harassment, intimidation and violence to pressure Palestinian communities to leave their land. She also called for an end to the inflammatory rhetoric from Israeli Ministers, which fuels aggression towards Palestinians and humanitarian workers. Switzerland’s diplomat added that civilian infrastructure must be off limits to attacks and bombardments.
Delegates also underscored the 15-member body has a responsibility to act with Mozambique’s speaker recalling the Council’s mighty role in facilitating negotiations between parties involved. China’s representative called for political will and diplomacy to tackle the question of Palestine, “not an endless stream of arms and ammunition”, recalling the “historic” nature of the 18 September Assembly resolution.
“The vicious cycle of destruction, death and vengeance must end now,” echoed Ecuador’s representative. Many others, such as the representative of the Republic of Korea, also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, combined with a surge in humanitarian aid throughout Gaza. He also said Hamas must stop endangering civilians by using civilian infrastructure for military purposes. But, even before a ceasefire is achieved, Japan’s delegate stressed, the international community must make plans for early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza. “Just removing the rubble will take decades,” he said.