Secretary General Of The United Nations Values Israel's Settlement Project As An Existence Threat For Two Countries Solutions

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has criticized the Israeli authorities' decision to approve the construction of more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement on the UN website, UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were violations of international law and were in direct conflict with UN resolutions.

"The implementation of this project is an existential threat to the solution of the two countries. This will separate the north and south of the West Bank and have serious consequences for the territorial sustainability of the occupied Palestinian Territories," he stressed, quoted from the UN website on Thursday, August 21.

As previously reported, a large construction project that will build about 3,400 housing units in the controversial E1 area of the West Bank, between Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, has received final approval on Wednesday.

Announced last week by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the controversial plan was officially approved by the Civil Administration High Planning Committee, a department at the Ministry of Defense, citing The Times of Israel.

Smotrich, who also holds the position of junior minister at the Ministry of Defense who gave him broad authority in settlement development, called the decision "historic."

He described the construction plan as a "significant measure that practically eliminates two countries' woes and strengthens the grip of Jews at the heart of the Land of Israel."

"The Secretary-General again called on the Government of Israel to immediately stop all residential activities and fully comply with its obligations under international law, and act in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and in line with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court on July 19, 2024," Dujarric said.

The E1 settlement project has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition from the international community, including the previous United States Administration, which fears the construction of new settlements on largely vacant land will preclude the formation of a side by side and viable Palestinian state.

Reviving the project could further isolate Israel, which has witnessed several frustrated Western allies with the continuation and escalation of the Gaza war announcing plans to recognize the Palestinian State at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The plan, which has now been approved, will link the metropolitan areas of Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, while it appears to thwart the prospect of coexisting Palestinian existence among the centers of the population of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Ramallah which has long been considered the basis for the Palestinian state.