Palestinian Ambassador Surati to UN Secretary-General to Security Council President on Israel's Steps to Strengthen Annexation

JAKARTA - The Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Riyad Mansour, wrote to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly, to the President of the Security Council regarding Israel's continued steps to strengthen the annexation of Palestinian land and make it irrevocable, despite having been repeatedly condemned internationally.

Ambassador Mansour pointed to Israel's continued progress in its illegal construction plans in the E1 area, which aim to separate the northern West Bank from its southern part and isolate occupied East Jerusalem from the surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods, which is a grave violation of international law and the unity and territorial integrity of the occupied Palestinian territory, which deals a fatal blow to the two-state solution.

He noted that the Israeli government last year approved a plan to build 3,401 colonial units in the E1 area and issued a tender for its implementation, in addition to advancing the construction of a new segregation road that will deprive Palestinians of access to their homes and land, launching WAFA (2/6).

Furthermore, the Palestinian Watap also referred to Israel's plans based on the forced eviction of Palestinian communities, including the recent order by the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to evict the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar, located in the heart of the West Bank, as well as an electronic system launched by Israel for "land registration and settlement of rights" on Palestinian land, which led to the reclassification of land ownership and allowed the occupiers to seize and control Palestinian land.

In his letter, Ambassador Mansour also referred to Israel's decision regarding archaeological and religious sites in the West Bank, including the seizure of land around Nabi Samwil Village, northwest of Jerusalem, which was the first takeover of a religious site in the West Bank, in addition to Israel's approval of a plan to build a military complex on top of the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem, after its illegal seizure and destruction, which violates the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and the absolute immunity of its property and buildings.

Emphasized by him, these actions are the core of Israel's plan aimed at annexation and imposing control over the occupied Palestinian territories, including occupied East Jerusalem.

Regarding the violence of settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Ambassador Mansour said that this was done with the support of the Israeli Government and the occupation forces, as the main pillar of the annexation project aimed at reducing the population of Palestinian land and illegally seizing it through murder, injury, and destruction of infrastructure, livestock, and olive trees.

Regarding Gaza, Ambassador Mansour said that nearly two million Palestinians are still displaced throughout the region amid the ongoing Israeli bombing and the dire humanitarian situation, noting the Israeli Prime Minister's order to expand Israeli control to cover 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, as another step towards the gradual annexation of the entire region, and as another blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, the ceasefire agreement agreed to in October 2025, and Security Council Resolution.

He also said that the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war is part of a sustained campaign against the Palestinian people aimed at erasing their existence, history, and heritage, referring to the inclusion of the Israeli armed forces and security on the United Nations list of parties responsible for patterns of sexual violence in armed conflict.

The Palestinian Watap called on the international community, including the Security Council and all States, to act without delay to immediately end Israel's annexation campaign in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and to end the ongoing injustice against the Palestinian people through the implementation of practical, binding, and effective accountability measures, in accordance with the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the opinions and orders of the advisory issued by the International Court of Justice, to force Israel, as an occupying Power, to fully comply with its legal obligations, ensure respect for international law, save human lives, and preserve the prospects of a just and lasting peace that is rapidly eroded.