ISRAEL’s policy toward the occupied West Bank is dooming any prospect of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
Through administrative and legal steps, Israel is changing the geography of the West Bank, Guterres said in a statement read by his chief of staff, Courtenay Rattray, during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday.
Settlement expansion is expected to speed up due to big land seizures in strategic areas and changes to planning, land management and governance, Guterres added.
“Recent developments are driving a stake through the heart of any prospect for a two-state solution,” said the UN chief.
Israeli military raids, arrests of Palestinians and settler violence have soared in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October.
Guterres noted that Israel has taken punitive steps against the Palestinian Authority and legalised five Israeli outposts in the West Bank.
Israel has built such outposts as part of its occupation of the West Bank since 1967.
“We must change course. All settlement activity must cease immediately,” Guterres said.
The UN chief also repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of all hostages.
At least 38,794 people have been killed and 89,364 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a moral stain on us all,” Guterres said.
