NEW YORK, March 21, 2025 (WAFA) – The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that the relentless expansion of Israeli colonies was dramatically altering the landscape and demographic composition of the Palestinian territories.

“The relentless expansion of Israeli settlements is dramatically altering the landscape and demographics of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestinians are increasingly confined into shrinking and disconnected areas, presenting an existential threat to the prospect of a contiguous, viable, independent Palestinian state,” Guterres said in a report on the implementation of the Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016.

He reiterated that Israeli colonies “have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law,” while warning that “The demolition and seizure of Palestinian-owned structures entail numerous human rights violations and raise concerns about the risk of forcible transfer.”

The full text of the report can be accessed here.

K.F.