UN Senior Official Condemns Israeli Operations in West Bank

JAKARTA - Senior United Nations (UN) officials on Wednesday condemned Israel's operations in the West Bank, Palestine, stressing the lack of a legal basis for Israeli settlements and violating international law.

Speaking at a high-level session of the UN Security Council at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States, UN Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo condemned Israel's actions in the occupied West Bank, stating that "Israeli forces continue to carry out large-scale operations throughout the West Bank, often involving live fire and raising serious concerns about the use of lethal force."

"We are witnessing a de facto annexation of the West Bank gradually because Israel's unilateral steps are gradually changing the landscape," he added, launching Anadolu (19/2).

Furthermore, he reiterated that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem "have no legal validity. They violate international law and UN resolutions."

Violence in the West Bank has escalated since Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, with reports of killings, arrests, displacement, and the expansion of illegal settlements throughout the region.

The Israeli government on Sunday approved a proposal to register a large area in the West Bank as "state property" for the first time since Israel occupied the territory in 1967.

Palestinians warn that Israel's actions pave the way for the official annexation of the occupied West Bank, which they say would end the prospects of a Palestinian state dreamed of in UN resolutions.