UN Says Israel’s West Bank Plans Would Accelerate ‘Dispossession of Palestinians’
GENEVA: The United Nations has warned that Israel’s proposed measures to tighten control over the occupied West Bank could significantly accelerate the displacement of Palestinians and undermine prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Israel’s latest plans — including permitting Jewish Israelis to directly purchase land in the West Bank and expanding Israeli authority in areas currently administered by the Palestinian Authority — represent further steps toward consolidating what he described as unlawful annexation.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Türk said the decisions approved by Israel’s security cabinet form part of a broader pattern aimed at integrating the occupied territory into Israel. He warned that, if implemented, the measures would likely increase Palestinian dispossession, facilitate further settlement expansion, and restrict Palestinians’ access to land, resources, and basic rights.
The UN rights chief stressed that such actions would violate the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and further weaken the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed, more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in settlements and outposts across the territory, which are considered illegal under international law. The West Bank is home to approximately three million Palestinians.
Türk also pointed to a wider context of rising violence and pressure on Palestinians, citing increased settler attacks, home demolitions, evictions, land seizures, and movement restrictions documented by his office. He warned that these developments are rapidly altering the demographic and social fabric of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The high commissioner urged Israel to reverse the decisions, emphasizing its obligations under international law as an occupying power to protect the rights and welfare of the occupied population.