The UN has expressed grave concern over Israeli plans to accelerate the legalisation of outposts and establish new ones in the occupied West Bank.
“The Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) is deeply concerned at the recent announcement by the Israeli authorities ... including reports of an accelerated process to legalise farm outposts and establish new ones,” deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Monday.
He emphasised Guterres' position that all settlements, including outposts, lack legal validity and represent a “flagrant violation of international law.”
Haq warned that such activities remain a "major obstacle" to achieving a two-state solution and lasting peace.
The remarks follow a surge in violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians and their property in recent weeks.
About 750,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in 156 settlements and 360 settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Since October 2023, Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,182 Palestinians in the West Bank, injured thousands and detained around 24,000, according to official Palestinian figures.
The UN considers the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory and says Israeli settlement activity there is illegal under international law.
