The UN human rights office stated on Friday that Israel’s plan to construct thousands of new homes in the West Bank near East Jerusalem is illegal under international law. The plan, which would expand an existing Israeli settlement, would put nearby Palestinians at risk of forced eviction, which the UN described as a war crime.
On Thursday, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to push forward with the long-delayed settlement project, saying the move would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
A spokesperson for the UN rights office said the plan would fragment the West Bank into isolated enclaves and that it is “a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
About 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. While Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980—a move not recognized by most countries—it has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.
Most world powers believe that settlement expansion erodes the viability of a two-state solution by breaking up the territory that Palestinians seek for a future independent state. The two-state solution envisions a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, existing alongside Israel. Israel captured all three territories during the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel maintains that the West Bank is “disputed,” not “occupied,” and cites historical and biblical ties to the area. It also argues that the settlements provide strategic depth and security.
