UN reports over 6,000 housing units approved in West Bank settlements

Wednesday 25 March 2026 - 16:20

By: Dakir Madiha

UN reports over 6,000 housing units approved in West Bank settlements

A UN report briefed to the Security Council on March 24 revealed continued high levels of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Planning authorities advanced or approved more than 6,000 housing units over three and a half months. Eight Council members issued a joint statement demanding an immediate halt to all settlement construction and condemning rising violence against Palestinians.

Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov presented the 37th report on Security Council Resolution 2334 implementation. The document, covering December 3, 2025, to March 13, 2026, tracks compliance with the 2016 demand for Israel to cease all settlement activity immediately. It detailed 3,160 units advanced or approved in Area C and 2,850 in East Jerusalem. Israel's Housing Ministry also tendered 5,375 more units in Area C, including 3,401 in the sensitive E1 corridor.

On February 8, Israel's cabinet approved measures extending civilian authority over additional West Bank areas. On February 15, it allocated 244 million shekels, or about $78 million, to resume Area C land registration for the first time since 1967. Palestinian structures faced accelerated demolitions, with 429 buildings razed, seized, or forcibly demolished, displacing 575 people including 290 children.

Violence spiked during the period. Israeli military operations, settler attacks, and related incidents killed 32 Palestinians, including seven children, and injured 833. Alakbarov noted daily settler attacks often occurred with Israeli forces present, forcing entire communities to flee.

Eight Council members Bahrain, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Pakistan, Somalia, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement. Pakistan's ambassador read the opening, voicing firm opposition to annexation or forced Palestinian displacement. They called settlement policy illegal, settler violence unacceptable, and demanded accountability.

Broader international reaction mounted. Twenty foreign ministers, including France, Brazil, and Spain, condemned Israel's moves on February 23 as steps toward de facto annexation. A March 16 UN human rights report logged 1,732 settler violence incidents last year, up from 1,400, and raised ethnic cleansing concerns amid displacements in Gaza and the West Bank. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israel to meet international law obligations.