UN Security Council condems Israel’s settlement expansion plans in the occupied territories

NEW YORK- The United Nations Security Council last night unanimously condemned the Israeli occupation plans to expand its settlements in the occupied West Bank.

A statement read at the conclusion of a special meeting expressed the Council’s “deep concern and dismay with Israel’s announcement on Feb. 12, 2023, on further construction and expansion of settlements and the legitimization of settlement outposts.”

It added: “The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines,” according to WAFA News Agency.

Read by Vanessa Frazier, Malta’s UN envoy who is serving as the council’s president for the month of February, the statement said: “The Security Council strongly underscores the need for all parties to meet their international obligations and commitments, strongly opposes all unilateral measures that impede peace, including the Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, confiscation of Palestinian lands, and the legalization of settlement outposts, demolition of Palestinians homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians.”

The Council reiterated the need to insist on maintaining the current historical situation of the holy places in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) by words and deeds, and the need to abide by the international humanitarian law, including protecting of civilians and facilitating the arrival of workers in the humanitarian field to reach those who need.

Hamda Mustafa