Gaza Crisis, West Bank Settler Violence ‘Unsustainable’, Experts Tell Security Council, as Speakers Demand Respect for Resolution 2334 (2016)
Updating the Security Council on the implementation of two separate resolutions concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict, senior officials in the region underscored that the status quo, from the crisis in Gaza to the settler violence in the West Bank, is not sustainable.
Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, focused on resolution 2334 (2016), which demanded that Israel cease all settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, while Nickolay Mladenov, High Representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, outlined the implementation of resolution 2803 (2025), which endorsed the United States’ “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” and welcomed the establishment of the Board.
‘Alarming’ Settlement Expansion, Settler Violence in West Bank
Mr. Alakbarov outlined the alarming increase in settlements and settler violence in the occupied West Bank. During the reporting period — 3 December 2025 to 13 March 2026 — Israeli authorities advanced or approved over 6,000 housing units, and approved measures to expand their civil authority in the occupied West Bank. Citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits — which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain — they “demolished, seized or forced people to demolish” 429 structures, displacing 575 persons, including 290 children and 150 women.
He also noted evictions of Palestinians from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem and daily settler-related attacks — often in the presence of Israeli forces. Thirty-two Palestinians, including seven children, were killed in such incidents, he said, detailing a 16 December incident in which “an Israeli settler reportedly shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian near Tuqu’, Bethlehem, during the funeral procession for a 16-year-old Palestinian boy shot and killed by Israeli forces on 15 December”. According to Israeli sources, two Israeli civilians, including one woman, were killed by armed Palestinians during the same reporting period.
Hamas Must Disarm
Mr. Mladenov, who focused on Gaza, said: “I want to speak very plainly about what brought us here.” The purpose of the United States-led plan is to prevent the repetition of both Hamas’ devastating 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the military campaign in Gaza that caused immense destruction, he said. The transition in Gaza must address the lack of a political resolution of the Palestinian question and Hamas’ 20 years of militant control of the Strip, he added.
He welcomed the ceasefire and the establishment of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. “Perhaps the most significant development” has been the development of a comprehensive framework for the decommissioning and reintegration of armed groups in Gaza, he said, adding: “The framework exists, it has been endorsed by all mediators, it has been presented to the parties and the engagement on it is very serious”. Council members must support the decommissioning of weapons in Gaza and urge all Palestinian factions to accept this. The choice is between “a renewed war, or a new beginning; the status quo, or a better future”; he said. “There is no third option.”
Palestinian Land ‘Not for Sale’
In turn, the observer for the State of Palestine underscored that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, constitute a single territorial unit. “It is Palestinian land. It is not for sale.” He recounted a recent incident in which Israeli soldiers fired between 50 and 70 rounds at a Palestinian family driving to Nablus for Eid preparations — killing four members. Not a single Israeli soldier was summoned for interrogation. This is part of a pattern of not just impunity but “rewarding criminality”, he said. Officers from the same unit were filmed last November executing two Palestinians in Jenin. The following day, Israel’s Minister for National Security announced that he would promote the unit’s commander.
Force against Iran, ‘Tremendous’ Progress in Gaza
“Members of this Council — your capitals are within reach” of Iran’s missiles, Israel’s delegate said. “We tried diplomacy for years”, but the regime exploited it, deceiving the international community about its true nuclear intentions, he said, underscoring that the cost of Israel’s operation against Iran is a necessary one. However, “the fact that we are acting forcefully against Iran and Hizbullah does not mean we are any less focused on Gaza,” he added. Voicing support for President Trump’s 20-point peace plan and resolution 2803 (2025), he stressed that Israel cannot move forward unless Hamas is disarmed.
Echoing that, the representative of United States said the Palestinians of Gaza must be free from the butchers who oppressed them — the international community must pressure Hamas to disarm. There is substantial progress in the implementation of resolution 2803 (2025), he said, adding that over the last five months, “humanitarian assistance has surged into Gaza”, every Israeli hostage has returned home, and “Hamas no longer holds hostages in its terror tunnels”. During the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, several countries pledged more than $7 billion in support, he said, adding: “This is real money, real effort towards a better life for Gazans.” Compared to six months ago, there has been tremendous progress, he said, and “Gaza can become a destination for investment”.
‘Gaza is bleeding’ — Calls to End ‘Genocidal’ Occupation, Realize Palestinian Self-Determination
Other speakers were less optimistic.
“It is absurd to think that there can be a fair, sustainable peace while the genocidal project continues,” Colombia’s delegate said. “Palestinians have become strangers on their own land,” Algeria’s delegate, speaking for the Arab Group, lamented. Gaza is bleeding openly and the hope generated by the ceasefire is dwindling. In Jerusalem, Israeli authorities have closed off the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — even in the darkest moments of history, worshipping there was a right, he pointed out.
Several speakers reaffirmed the Palestinian right to self-determination as they condemned the closure of holy sites, the continued land confiscations, home demolitions and forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank. “What we are witnessing is no longer a matter of isolated incidents, but organized, coordinated attacks against the Palestinian population [as a result of] an occupation system that has been allowed to operate with impunity,” Pakistan’s delegate pointed out.
Somalia’s delegate said Israel’s policies are aimed at entrenching a de facto annexation and expanding administrative control over lands in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while the representative of Panama warned that the violence, displacement and demolition in the West Bank risk the erosion of “the minimum conditions necessary to move towards a fair, dignified and sustainable solution”.
The global community must not let a two-State solution slip beyond reach, speakers stressed. “Peace is rarely lost in a single moment,” Denmark’s delegate reflected. “It erodes slowly, day by day, settlement by settlement.” Latvia’s delegate also called for accountability for Israeli settler attacks, while condemning Iran for fueling regional violence with backing from the Russian Federation.
Bahrain’s delegate noted that Muslims and Christians are celebrating holy days this month and condemned the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli authorities. Despite Iran’s attacks, his country is actively contributing to peace in the region, including as a member of the newly founded Board of Peace.
China’s representative stressed that any new political arrangements must fully respect the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine” and rejected any unilateral initiatives. The representative of Greece was among the many speakers who called for support for the Palestinian Authority and warned that its fiscal collapse “must be avoided at all costs”. “Gaza and the West Bank are a single, indivisible territorial unit,” she stressed.
Path to Stability: Renewed Backing for UNRWA, Palestinian Authority
France’s delegate called on Hamas to accept the proposed sequenced plan: Any other choice would be suicidal for Palestine and the Palestinians, he said. He also highlighted the weakening of the Palestinian Authority, particularly due to Israel’s “unjustifiable refusal to provide tax income”. This harms regional stability, Israel’s own security and the Palestinian Authority’s ability to provide essential service, he noted. The representative of the United Kingdom, calling for the implementation of Phase 2 of the ceasefire, underscored: “Hamas has no future in the governance of Gaza.”
He was also among those speakers who stressed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) must be able to operate unimpeded in Gaza. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s delegate added that the Agency’s work is essential in providing life-saving assistance, particularly in the areas of health, education and emergency aid. The representative of the Russian Federation said that, while the international community’s attention is diverted to Iran, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem posted a video clip — against the backdrop of a demolished UNRWA building — directly calling for the murder of all Agency staff. Such statements are not an exception; rather, this is just one example of “an aggressive and targeted campaign deployed by Israel against UNRWA”, he said.
Liberia’s delegate told the Council: “Our tenure here is only for two years — this conflict should not outdate us in its current state and form.” Reflecting on his own country’s journey, he added: “We sit around this table as proof that recovery is possible when the world refuses to look away.”