The US on Monday said it opposed any Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, warning that destabilising moves in the territory could undermine efforts to advance President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
“As President Trump stated, the United States opposes Israeli annexation of the West Bank,” US representative Jennifer Locetta told the UN Security Council in New York.
“Stability in the West Bank is vital for Israel's security and aligns with our goal of achieving peace in the region." She added that Washington wanted to ensure the well-being of Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel captured the territory during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and has occupied it ever since. Settlements built there are illegal under international law.
Ms Locetta said the US shared concerns raised by other Security Council members over economic instability in the West Bank and the need to expand economic opportunities for Palestinians.
She also criticised measures adopted or proposed by “some UN member states” targeting businesses operating in parts of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank.
“As Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio said, we do not want to see any destabilising activity in the West Bank at this moment, as it could have implications on our ability to make progress with regards to President Trump's Gaza peace plan,” Ms Locetta said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the diplomatic accreditation of Dutch officials based in the West Bank would be revoked after the Netherlands began enforcing sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements.
The UK, France and Canada also announced at the beginning of September that they would issue sanctions barring trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel responded by announcing the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem.
Israel's “creeping annexation” of the West Bank is “unlawful, has no legal effect, and must stop”, Ramiz Alakbarov, acting special co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told Security Council members.
He said Israeli settlements and related infrastructure had no legal validity under international law and warned that the E1 settlement plan near Jerusalem would effectively sever the northern and southern West Bank and further isolate East Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities advanced or approved nearly 4,570 housing units in Area C of the West Bank and another 3,515 in East Jerusalem between June 13 and September 18, Mr Alakbarov added.
Israeli authorities also demolished, seized or forced Palestinians to demolish 536 structures, displacing 736 people, including 347 children, according to the UN.
Mr Alakbarov expressed concern over the scale of Palestinian displacement, saying entire communities had been uprooted, some repeatedly, in circumstances that “may raise concern about ethnic cleansing”.
Israel’s deputy UN ambassador, Noa Furman, told council members that "Israel condemns all forms of violence" in the occupied West Bank "whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis".
"We take these incidents seriously and act against those responsible,” she added.
“But the obstacle to peace has never been those Israeli communities. The fundamental challenge is the absence of a partner committed to peace,” she added, referring to Hamas.
