The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level since at least 2017, when the UN began tracking the data.
In 2025, “plans for nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tendered, compared with some 26,170 in 2024", said the report, according to a report by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, seen by AFP.
He condemned the “relentless” expansion, saying it “continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State”.
“These figures represent a sharp increase compared to previous years,” Mr Guterres added. An average of 12,815 housing units were added annually between 2017 and 2022, he said.
On Friday, Israel's cabinet decided to give legal status
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