NEW YORK, Aug 21 — United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the decision of Israel's Higher Planning Committee to approve over 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, Xinhua reported.
"Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are a violation of international law and run directly counter to UN resolutions.
"The advancement of this project is an existential threat to the two-state solution. It would sever the northern and southern West Bank and have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory," said his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in a statement on Wednesday.
Guterres reiterated his call for the Israeli government to immediately halt all settlement activity and to comply fully with its obligations under international law and to act in accordance with relevant UN resolutions, and in line with the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of July 19, 2024.
On Wednesday, Israel's Higher Planning Council authorised 3,753 housing units, including 3,401 for final approval in the E1 neighbourhood of Ma'ale Adumim. The project would link settlements to create a continuum separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
