'Unlawful' Israeli E1 settlement plan would sever northern, southern West Bank, warns UN chief

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned that Israel's "unlawful" plans to expand settlements in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank would sever its northern and southern parts and deal a serious blow to the two-state solution.

"In the occupied West Bank, relentless illegal settlement expansion, demolitions, displacement, and evictions are accelerating," Guterres said at the opening session of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

Over 37,000 Palestinians were displaced in the West Bank in 2025 alone, a year that also saw record levels of Israeli settler violence, Guterres said, adding: "The recently published tender by Israel for 3,401 housing units in the E1 area – alongside continued demolitions – is profoundly alarming."

"If carried forward, it would sever the northern and southern West Bank, undermine territorial contiguity, and strike a severe blow to the viability of a two-state solution," he said.

Such actions, including Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, are "deeply destabilizing" and "unlawful" under international law, as recalled by the International Court of Justice, he said.

The UN chief also reaffirmed his full support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), condemning laws adopted by the Israeli parliament that further impede the agency's ability to operate and carry out its mandate.

"I also condemn in the strongest terms actions by Israeli authorities to demolish the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound in occupied East Jerusalem," he said.