Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomes UN report on settlement expansion

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has welcomed a UN report documenting escalating Israeli settlement activity, calling for international accountability.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the ministry praised findings by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which detailed what it described as serious and ongoing violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, as well as the occupied Syrian Golan.

The ministry said the report outlines systematic policies aimed at altering the demographic and geographic character of the occupied territories through settlement expansion, land confiscation, demolitions and forced evictions.

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It added that these measures contribute to what it described as a coercive environment designed to displace Palestinians.

According to the statement, the report highlights an unprecedented acceleration in settlement activity, including the approval of thousands of housing units, the establishment of new outposts, and the expansion of infrastructure reinforcing Israeli control.

The ministry warned that such developments undermine the viability of an independent and contiguous Palestinian state, urging the international community to take action to ensure accountability and uphold international law.

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