UN official warns of exploding situation in West Bank
- Last updated: August 12, 2026 | 12:30
UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, has warned of an exploding situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, driven by escalating settler violence, settlement expansion, and Israeli military operations. He stated that these developments have altered reality on the ground and are undermining prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace based on a two-state solution.
Alakbarov informed members of the UN Security Council that the current deterioration across the Palestinian territory is not unexpected, but rather the cumulative result of decades of unresolved conflict that has deepened the Israeli occupation, pushed the Palestinian Authority to the brink of collapse, and weakened prospects for an independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian state.
The UN official warned of a pattern of forced displacement facing Palestinian communities in the West Bank before settlers seize the vacated land.
Alakbarov highlighted a dramatic acceleration in Israeli settlement activity, noting that Israeli authorities are acting to consolidate control over vast swathes of the West Bank.
He concluded that the situation in the West Bank must be treated as an emergency requiring urgent action, stressing that concern centres not only on ongoing settlement expansion, but on the speed and systemic manner in which new facts on the ground are being created.
The UN official affirmed that the international community still possesses the means to prevent further escalation and establish a credible path toward a resolution.
He called for the immediate and full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2803, alongside the mutually reinforcing implementation of the New York Declaration within the framework of existing Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334.
He added that these instruments provide the political vision and coordinated international action required to end the occupation, advance the two-state solution, and settle the conflict.
WAM