UN Chief Condemns Israeli Settlements as Illegal Under International Law

A new UN study seen by AFP said that UN Secretary-General António Guterres denounced the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, particularly the eastern portion of occupied al-Quds, and warned that 2025 has seen the biggest increase in settlement plans since UN monitoring started.

Guterres also condemned the increase in settler violence, which he claimed is happening at a worrisome rate and getting worse during the olive harvest season, in a report published on Friday. He declared that “all settlements are illegal and invalid, representing a clear violation of international law.”

The Secretary-General expressed grave concern about the precarious security situation in Gaza, pointing out that continuous violence still poses a threat to the truce and emphasizing that frequent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza are seriously harming infrastructure and killing a large number of civilians.

Israel declared on December 12 that 19 additional illegal settlements in the West Bank would be rebuilt and rehabilitated. The plan, which was first put up by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Israel Katz, was approved by the cabinet, according to Israeli Channel 7.

As part of the occupation’s methodical expansion of the settler colonial project in Palestine, “Israel” finally approved 764 additional settlement units in the occupied West Bank on December 11.

According to Smotrich, the Israeli occupation has approved the building of about 51,000 settlement units throughout the occupied territories since taking power in late 2022.

On December 8, he unveiled a comprehensive government plan to spend 2.7 billion shekels, or roughly $837 million, over the course of the next five years on enlarging and solidifying colonial settlements throughout the occupied West Bank. The plan aims to build 17 new colonies, fortify dozens of already-existing ones, and modernize infrastructure in areas under Israeli control.