Headlines
UN rights office says Israeli settlement plan breaks international law
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
The UN rights office states Israeli settlement plans in the West Bank violate international law, risking forced eviction of Palestinians, deemed a war crime.
(Reuters) -The U.N. human rights office said on Friday an Israeli plan to build to build thousands of new homes between an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and near East Jerusalem was illegal under international law, and would put nearby Palestinians at risk of forced eviction, which it described as a war crime.
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday vowed to press on a long-delayed settlement project, saying the move would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state.
The U.N. rights office spokesperson said the plan would break the West Bank into isolated enclaves and that it was "a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".
About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.
Most world powers say settlement expansion erodes the viability of a two-state solution by breaking up territory the Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state.
The two-state plan envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel, which captured all three territories in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel cites historical and biblical ties to the area and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security and that the West Bank is "disputed" not "occupied".
(Reporting by Emma Farge; writing by Ahmed Elimam; editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrew Heavens)
International law refers to a set of rules and principles that govern the relations and dealings of nations with each other, as well as the rights and responsibilities of individuals and organizations on an international level.
A settlement plan is a proposal or strategy for establishing a community or residential area, often involving the construction of housing and infrastructure, typically in a context of land disputes or territorial claims.
Forced eviction is the removal of individuals or communities from their homes or land against their will, often without legal process or adequate compensation, and is considered a violation of human rights.
A two-state solution is a proposed resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that envisions the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel, aimed at achieving peace and coexistence.
A war crime is a serious violation of the laws and customs of war, which includes acts such as intentionally killing civilians, torturing prisoners, and other inhumane acts committed during armed conflict.
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