Human Rights Council Hears that 700,000 Israeli Settlers are Living Illegally in the Occupied West Bank – Meeting Summary (Excerpts)

The Human Rights Council this afternoon heard the presentation of a report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights which stated that the current Israeli plan to double the settler population in the occupied Syrian Golan by 2027 was unprecedented, and that 700,000 Israeli settlers are living illegally in the occupied West Bank.

Christian Salazar Volkmann, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented the High Commissioner’s report on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which analysed developments related to settlement advancement over the last decade. From 2012 to 2022, the population of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had grown from 520,000 to over 700,000. These settlers lived illegally in 279 Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, including 14 settlements in the occupied East Jerusalem, with a total population of more than 229,000 people. At least 147 of these settlements were outposts, illegal even under Israeli domestic law.

The report documented a correlation between the expansion of outposts and settler attacks against Palestinians. During the past decade, the United Nations had verified 3,372 violent incidents by settlers, injuring 1,222 Palestinians. Last year, settler violence reached the highest levels ever recorded by the United Nations. Israel had failed to investigate and prosecute crimes against Palestinians committed by settlers and Israeli forces.

Mr. Volkmann said the current Israeli plan to double the settler population on the Syrian Golan by 2027, and increase the number of Israeli settlements on the occupied Syrian Golan from 34 to 36 was unprecedented. The seizure of lands for Israeli settlements, military zones, nature reserves and commercial activities limited the Syrian’s population’s access to land and water, in violation of their rights to adequate housing, food and health.

Israel was not present to take the floor as a country concerned.

State of Palestine, speaking as a country concerned, said the information in the report was important as it tracked the expansion of settlements and the widespread violation of civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people, as well as the violation of resolutions by the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice, and other international bodies. The report also contained recommendations which should be implemented. The international community should put in place punitive measures to put an end to these crimes. All dealings with settlers, settlements and the incumbent Prime Minister should cease.

Syrian Arab Republic, speaking as a country concerned, said it was time to take concrete measures to end the international community’s inability to end the occupation of Arab territories by Israel, with the support of the Government of the United States. This report was the greatest evidence of the United States’ and Israel’s disdain for international law, the United Nations Charter, and the situation in Palestine and the occupied Syrian Golan. This unprecedented situation of unlimited impunity had allowed Israel to continue its unprincipled attacks against Syria, with the deaths of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure. Syria reaffirmed its inalienable right to retrieve the Syrian Golan.

In the ensuing general debate under agenda item seven on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab Territories, speakers supported the establishment of Palestine as an independent State with East Jerusalem as its capital, calling upon the international community to find a peaceful and just solution to the conflict, in line with the respect of the human rights of the Palestinian people. All policies resulting in the destruction of places of worship were condemned, in particular with regard to the Al-Aqsa mosque. Israel must cease its illegal settlement policy, which was a violation of international law and of international resolutions, including those of the Security Council.

Speaking in the general debate were Oman on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Qatar on behalf of the Group of Arab States.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council adopted the Universal Periodic Review outcome of South Africa.

The Vice President said out of the 293 recommendations received, 269 enjoyed the support of South Africa, and 23 were noted. Additional clarification was provided on one recommendation, indicating which part of the recommendation was supported and which part was noted.

Speaking on South Africa were Senegal, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, United Nations Population Fund, Tanzania, Venezuela, Yemen, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Benin, and Botswana.

Also speaking were International Lesbian and Gay Association, International Service for Human Rights, Edmund Rice International Limited, Action Canada for Population and Development, World Jewish Congress, Human Rights Watch, CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Amnesty International, Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l’homme, and International Commission of Jurists.

The Council then concluded its general debate under agenda item six on the Universal Periodic Review.

Some speakers said the Universal Periodic Review was one of the key success stories of the Human Rights Council. The spirit of constructive engagement should continue to guide its future cycles, and the principles of impartiality, transparency, and even-handedness should continue. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should extend cooperation for the technical assistance provided through the Voluntary Trust Fund, at the request of the country concerned, both to facilitate participation in sessions and for the implementation of Universal Periodic Review outcomes. Countries should conduct sincere dialogue and cooperation during the process, and provide other countries with recommendations in line with their development level, to work together to further the human rights cause, in a non-selective and non-politicised manner.

Speaking in the general debate on the Universal Periodic Review were Pakistan on behalf of Organization of Islamic Conference, Belgium on behalf of a group of countries, Malaysia on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Trinidad and Tobago on behalf of a group of countries, United States, China, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Georgia, Gambia, Algeria, Malawi, Benin, Bolivia, Cuba, Lithuania, Venezuela, Tunisia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iraq, Togo, Armenia, South Sudan, Libya, Lesotho, Azerbaijan, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Kenya, and Iran.

Also speaking were UPR Info, Campagne Internationale pour l’Abolition des Armes Nucléaires, Khiam Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Stichting Global Human Rights Defence, Asociacion Cubana de las Naciones Unidas (Cuban United Nations Association), Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Direitos Humanos, Humanists International, International Bar Association, Justiça Global, Colombian Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights, Guinee Humanitaire, Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, and Centre for Gender Justice and Women Empowerment.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found hereOpens in new window. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-second regular session can be found here.Opens in new window

The Council will next meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 29 March, when it will continue and conclude its general debate under agenda item seven on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab Territories…

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Presentation of Reports Under Agenda Item Seven on the Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories

Reports

The Council has before it the report  of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan (A/HRC/52/76).

Also before the Council is the report  of the Secretary-General on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan (A/HRC/52/77).

Presentation of Reports

CHRISTIAN SALAZAR VOLKMANN, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the High Commissioner’s report on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, analysed developments related to settlement advancement over the last decade. From 2012 to 2022, the population of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had grown from 520,000 to over 700,000. These settlers lived illegally in 279 Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, including 14 settlements in the occupied East Jerusalem, with a total population of more than 229,000 people. At least 147 of these settlements were outposts, illegal even under Israeli domestic law. The establishment and expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory was prohibited under international humanitarian law and such transfers amounted to a war crime. Israel had expanded control over large swathes of the West Bank through a variety of means, including declaration of lands as “state lands”, construction of infrastructure to connect settlements and outposts to each other, as well as the retroactive legalisation of outposts. The takeover of land and resources consolidated Israeli presence while severely infringing upon Palestinians’ freedom of movement, and their access to and the enjoyment of resources.

The report documented a correlation between the expansion of outposts and settler attacks against Palestinians. During the past decade, the United Nations had verified 3,372 violent incidents by settlers, injuring 1,222 Palestinians. Last year, settler violence reached the highest levels ever recorded by the United Nations. Israel had failed to investigate and prosecute crimes against Palestinians committed by settlers and Israeli forces. The report covered three cases of imminent forcible transfer, which was considered a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention, in detail: Masafer Yatta, Ras al Tin and Wadi Qaddum in East Jerusalem, impacting more than 1,450 Palestinian residents in total. From 2012 to 2021, Israel demolished 6,821 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, forcibly evicting 9,766 Palestinians.

The current Israeli plan to double the settler population on the Syrian Golan by 2027, and increase the number of Israeli settlements on the occupied Syrian Golan from 34 to 36 was unprecedented. The seizure of lands for Israeli settlements, military zones, nature reserves and commercial activities limited the Syrian’s population’s access to land and water, in violation of their rights to adequate housing, food and health.

Mr. Volkmann said some recommendations in the report which would make an immediate difference included that Israel must cease immediately and reverse all settlements development and related activities, in accordance with relevant United Nations’ resolutions. The agreement of 19 March in Sharm El Sheikh, including the Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorisation of any outposts for six months, could be seen as a first step in the right direction. Adherence to this agreement was encouraged. Israel, as the occupying power, needed to protect the Palestinian people and their property from settler violence, and ensure that all incidents of violence were investigated. Perpetrators need to be prosecuted, and victims provided with effective remedies.

The second report was the report on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, which summarised the responses received to a request for information about the implementation of the resolution. Responses were received from the Permanent Missions of Cuba, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Syrian Arab Republic.

Statements by Countries Concerned

Israel was not present to take the floor as a country concerned.

State of Palestine, speaking as a country concerned, said the information in the report was important as it tracked the expansion of settlements and the widespread violation of civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people, as well as the violation of resolutions by the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice, and other international bodies. The report also contained recommendations which should be implemented. The recently established new Government in Israel had effectively given rise to the return of settlements that had been vacated in the north part of the West Bank: this was Israel’s project of imperialist occupation. The international community should put in place punitive measures to put an end to these crimes. All dealings with settlers, settlements and the incumbent Prime Minister should cease. Countries that supported the two-State solution and had not yet recognised the State of Palestine should do so. There had been a fresh wave of theft of Palestinian assets, and the Government had agreed to establish terrorist groups named “the National Guard”. Israel claimed that Palestine was an invention that was less than 100 years old.

Syrian Arab Republic, speaking as a country concerned, said it was time to take concrete measures to end the international community’s inability to end the occupation of Arab territories by Israel, with the support of the Government of the United States. This report was the greatest evidence of the United States’ and Israel’s disdain for international law, the United Nations Charter, and the situation in Palestine and the occupied Syrian Golan. This unprecedented situation of unlimited impunity had allowed Israel to continue its unprincipled attacks against Syria, with the deaths of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure. To double the number of settlers in the occupied Golan in the next few years was the goal of Israel, and it was advancing its settlement programme unabated. This constituted flagrant violations of the human rights of all Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan. Syria reaffirmed its inalienable right to retrieve the Syrian Golan. Syria demanded that the people in the Golan be allowed to visit their homeland through the closed crossing, and reaffirmed its unwavering support for the Palestinian people to re-establish their homeland with East Jerusalem as the capital, and the liberation of the occupied Lebanese territories. Israel must be held accountable for all its crimes.

General Debate Under Agenda Item Seven on the Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories

Speakers supported the establishment of Palestine as an independent State with East Jerusalem as its capital, calling upon the international community to find a peaceful and just solution to the conflict, in line with the respect of the human rights of the Palestinian people. The attacks of Israel had left scores of civilian victims. All policies resulting in the destruction of places of worship were condemned, in particular with regard to the Al-Aqsa mosque. Israel must cease its illegal settlement policy, which was a violation of international law and of international resolutions, including those of the Security Council.

That some States declined to participate in the debate was regretted. The situation was ever deteriorating, with more violations by the occupying power. Israel had a policy of storming Palestinian places and places of worship, which, along with the 16-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, constituted crimes against humanity. The continuing settlement policy, as well as the fact that more and more racist laws were being adopted in Israel, showed that it was committed to deepening apartheid. The international community should live up to its responsibilities, and support Palestine as an independent State within the pre-1967 borders.

Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

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