UN chief 'gravely concerned' over Israeli decision to expand control in West Bank

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed deep concern over Israel’s recent approval of measures aimed at strengthening control in the occupied West Bank.

"The secretary-general is gravely concerned by the reported decision of the Israeli security cabinet to authorize a series of administrative and enforcement measures in Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank," Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference.

Dujarric said that the UN chief "warns that the current trajectory on the ground, including this decision, is eroding the prospect for the two-state solution."

"He reiterates that all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and their associated regime and infrastructure, have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law, including​ relevant United Nations resolutions," he said.

Israel's continued presence in Palestinian territories is "not only destabilizing" but "unlawful," he said.

Guterres further called "on Israel to reverse these measures and on all parties to preserve the only path to lasting peace, a negotiated two-state solution, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and international law," said Dujarric.

Israel’s Security Cabinet on Sunday approved measures aimed at changing the legal and civil framework in the occupied West Bank to strengthen Israeli control.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that the decisions include repealing a law barring the sale of Palestinian land to Jews in the West Bank, unsealing land ownership records, and transferring building permit authority in a Hebron settlement bloc from the Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.