UN Secretary-General expresses concern over new settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank

New York, August 20 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over reports of new illegal Israeli occupation settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including new tenders covering the E-1 area. In a press statement on Wednesday evening, Guterres voiced particular concern about developments in the E-1 area, which would effectively sever the connection between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. He warned that this “would have severe consequences for the territorial integrity of the occupied Palestinian land and pose an existential threat to the two-state solution.” The Secretary-General called on the Israeli occupation to refrain from taking further steps in this regard and to act in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice issued on July 19, 2024. It is recalled that the Israeli occupation had announced the tendering of construction for more than 1,200 residential settlement units within the E-1 project. (End) A.S.T. / M.A.A.