United Nations, New York, 18 November 2009 - In a statement we issued yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General deplored the Government of Israel's decision to expand Gilo settlement, built on Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
The Secretary-General reiterates his position that settlements are illegal, and calls on Israel to respect its commitments under the Road Map to cease all settlement activity, including natural growth. He believes that such actions undermine efforts for peace and cast doubt on the viability of the two-State solution.
Meanwhile, in related news, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today released its monthly Humanitarian Monitor report for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
In it, OCHA highlights growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. It notes that, in 2009, on average, 13 Palestinians have been injured per month in settler-related incidents. In particular, OCHA recorded numerous attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians harvesting their olives and on olive groves.
On occupied East Jerusalem, OCHA says that, while Israel has expropriated around 35 percent of that zone for Israeli settlements, only around 13 percent is available for Palestinian construction. And much of that land is built-up already. In those areas where construction is possible, Israeli bureaucratic restrictions make it extremely difficult for Palestinian residents to get building permits.
OCHA also says that access restrictions, particularly at Israeli Barrier checkpoints, continue to hinder UN operations in the West Bank.
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