UN Secretary-General Condemns Israel for Granting City Status to Givat Ze'ev
António Guterres declared that granting city status to the Givat Ze'ev settlement violates international law and obstructs a two-state solution.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Israeli government's decision to grant city status to Givat Ze'ev, an Israeli settlement located northwest of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. Through spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres asserted that the administrative designation does not change the settlement's legal status as part of occupied Palestinian territory under international law.
Guterres declared that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, lack legal validity and are in flagrant violation of UN resolutions. He identified these settlements and their related infrastructure as primary obstacles to achieving a two-state solution and a comprehensive peace. He called on Israel to cease all colonial expansion activities, citing UN Security Council resolutions and a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.
In coordination with this condemnation, the UN highlighted data from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showing that Israeli attacks caused 55% of all Palestinian injuries in the West Bank during 2026. The UN emphasized that Palestinians in the region must be protected under international humanitarian law.
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