The United Nations on Thursday accused Israel of flagrantly violating international law by expanding settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, saying settlements are illegal and urging the country's new government to halt their enlargement immediately.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland reported on the implementation of a 2016 Security Council resolution that declared settlements have "no legal validity." It demanded a halt to their expansion in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands the Palestinians want to include in a future state.
Wennesland said in a briefing to the council on Guterres' 12-page report that he was "deeply troubled" by Israel's approval of a plan to add 540 housing units to the Har Homa community in east Jerusalem as well as the establishment of settlement outposts, which he said was "illegal also under Israeli law."
"I again underscore, in no uncertain terms, that Israeli settlements constitute a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and international law," the UN envoy said. "They are a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution and a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace."
"The advancement of all settlement activity must cease immediately," Wennesland said.
Both Guterres and Wennesland also called on Israeli authorities to end the demolition of Palestinian homes and other property and the displacement of Palestinians "and to approve plans that would enable these communities to build legally and address their development needs."
The December 2016 resolution, which the United States abstained on in the final weeks of former US President Barack Obama's administration in an unprecedented anti-Israel move, also called for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians and urged Israel and the Palestinians to exercise restraint and refrain from provocative actions, incitement, and inflammatory rhetoric.
It also called on all parties to launch negotiations on final status issues and urged intensified international and regional diplomatic efforts to help end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieve a two-state solution that would see Israelis and Palestinians can live side-by-side in peace.
Wennesland said the period between March and June covered in the report "witnessed an alarming increase in the level of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, including hostilities between Israel and factions in [the] Gaza [Strip] at a scale and intensity not seen in years."
He said the cessation of hostilities after last month's 11-day Gaza war "remains very fragile," adding that the United Nations was working closely with Israel, the Palestinians, and partners including Egypt "to solidify a cease-fire, allow the entry of urgent humanitarian assistance, and stabilize the situation in Gaza."
Hamas, which controls Gaza, has demanded significant easing of the Israeli blockade. Israel has said it would not tolerate any attacks from Gaza, including the launch of incendiary balloons, which triggered Israeli airstrikes last week.
"I urge all sides to refrain from unilateral steps and provocations, take steps to reduce tensions, and allow these efforts to succeed," Wennesland told the council. "Everyone must do their part to facilitate ongoing discussions to stabilize the situation on the ground and avoid another devastating escalation in Gaza."
He called on all Palestinian factions "to make serious efforts to ensure the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under a single, legitimate, democratic, national government," saying that Gaza must remain part of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution.
During the March to June reporting period, Guterres said 295 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces and 10,149 were injured during demonstrations, clashes, search-and-arrest operations, airstrikes, shelling, and other incidents in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem.
According to IDF data, at least half of Palestinian casualties were armed terrorists.
The UN chief said 90 members of the Israeli security forces and 857 Israeli civilians were injured by Palestinians during the same period in clashes, rock-throwing and firebombing, the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars, and other incidents.
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