ASG Brands Kehris urges Israel to end unlawful presence in Occupied Palestinian Territory and occupation of Syrian Golan, in reports to UN General Assembly

Thank you, Madam Chair, 
Ambassador Pieris,

Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

For decades, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory has deprived Palestinians of exercising their right to self-determination, and life in equality and dignity.

As we now enter the second year of this horrific escalation in the conflict, we are witnessing the atrocious and cumulative effects of war – an endless spiral of death, starvation, displacement and destruction; and a region ablaze in deepening insecurity.    

According to the Ministry of Health of the State of Palestine, since 7 October 2023, at least 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza, 70 percent of them women and children. Over 101,000 have been injured, and nearly 1.9 million people displaced – from newborn to the elderly, pregnant women, people with disabilities – many of them multiple times. These staggering numbers likely understate the true scope of this tragedy, as countless individuals remain buried beneath the rubble.

These appalling figures are a direct consequence of the conduct of hostilities in Gaza, particularly the means and methods of warfare chosen by the Israeli military and the consistent failure by Israel to comply with its obligations as the occupying power in Gaza. Both fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law — distinction, proportionality, and precaution in attack — meant to protect civilians, and Israel’s obligation to ensure the food and medical supplies of the population in Gaza, have been repeatedly disregarded.

Nowhere are these violations being more profoundly felt than in northern Gaza, where the situation has become nothing short of apocalyptic. For the past month and a half, the area has effectively been under siege, with civilians denied basic aid and life-saving supplies while repeated bombardment and other attacks continue. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – the IPC, has warned of the strong likelihood that famine is imminent in the north. Likewise, the High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of war crimes and risks of further atrocity crimes.

In the midst of this catastrophe, the Israeli military has continued to hamper the entry and distribution of aid, and by restricting the activities of UNRWA, Israel risks being in violation of its own obligations as an occupying power to meet the needs for essential services - food, shelter, healthcare, and education - not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, namely the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the situation is rapidly unravelling due to deepening Israeli oppression, segregation and violence. The Israeli security forces continue a campaign of targeted killings against Palestinians and raids in refugee camps and towns across the West Bank, characterized by the unlawful use of methods and weapons designed for combat. Violent settler attacks, mass arrests, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detentions persist — all with impunity. A record number of outposts have also been established alongside ongoing settlement expansion, further threatening Palestinians’ rights, including to safety and security.

Madam Chair,

These compounding crises and challenges require every effort to de-escalate and establish a viable path toward sustainable peace and security.

We need a ceasefire now. We reiterate the call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. We also reiterate the call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained by Israel. We need an immediate influx and sustained flow of humanitarian aid into all parts of Gaza. And we need the full and urgent restoration of essential services— which is currently impossible without UNRWA.

But ultimately, Israel must bring an end to its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible, in line with the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion of last July and of General Assembly resolution ES-10 (2024) adopted in September. This means putting an end to all its unlawful policies and practices, as found by the ICJ, including ceasing all new settlement activity, and repealing all legislation and measures creating or maintaining the unlawful situation, as well as all measures aimed at modifying the demographic composition of any parts the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Palestinian people must be able to fully exercise their right to self-determination. And Palestinians and Israelis alike must be allowed to live side by side in peace, equality and dignity.  

Madam Chair,

For more than 20 years, OHCHR’s monitoring and reporting of developments across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, have informed this Assembly as well as the Human Rights Council of continuing violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of international human rights law by Israel, as well as Palestinian duty bearers. A pervasive lack of accountability has created the conditions facilitating the scale of serious violations of international law that we are currently witnessing.  

This is illustrated again in two reports that I present under item 50.

The report of the Secretary-General on the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 78/78, covers the period from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024.

The report provides an update on accelerated measures taken by the Israeli Government to entrench its discriminatory and oppressive system of control of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The report details a series of policy and legal measures, that, according to the International Court of Justice, entrench Israels control over the occupied Palestinian territory, and stresses that the transfer of administrative authority over land and settlements from military to civilian officials further facilitates the process of annexation by Israel. The Israeli government has also simplified the approval process for settlement construction and extended the jurisdiction of Israeli local government entities to settlements. This ensures Israeli settlers receive the same services as those within Israel, further erasing the distinct administration of the occupied territory. The report notes these measures reflect facts on the ground that Israel has been administering the West Bank as its own territory and in a manner that discriminates against the protected population.

These structural changes have been paired with a surge in settlement activities after 7 October 2023, reaching record levels by 30 April 2024, with catastrophic impacts on Palestinians’ rights. During the reporting period, plans for 19,500 housing units were advanced or approved —an 86% increase in East Jerusalem alone. The report notes that 30 new outposts were also established, land titling in East Jerusalem accelerated, and infrastructure developments, including settlement-only roads, continued across the West Bank. These measures have blocked Palestinians' access to land and undermined the practical viability of a contiguous Palestinian state. Israel has also continued to unlawfully apply discriminatory housing, property and planning laws and policies, resulting in systematic demolitions, seizures of Palestinian-owned structures and forced evictions across the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.

The expansion of settlements has also been accompanied by a marked increase in settler violence and associated displacement of Palestinians since 7 October, exacerbating a previously reported rising trend of human rights violations and abuses by settlers over the recent years.  

The effects of this violence have been particularly felt by Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the West Bank, whose continuing existence on their lands is threatened by the coercive environment that these violations create, in tandem with discriminatory restriction in access to justice and law enforcement. The report highlights that this violence has been enabled by the complicity, acquiescence and even support or participation of Israeli security forces, against the backdrop of generalised impunity.

The report concludes that the establishment and ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the OPT amounts to the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into occupied territory, in violation of international humanitarian law. It is also consistent with the ICJ’s recent conclusion that certain Israeli policies and practices in the OPT are inconsistent with Israel’s obligations under international human rights treaties, including the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid under Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In his report, the Secretary-General reiterates his recommendations for Israel to immediately and completely cease and reverse all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in adherence to international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. He urges Israel to immediately halt all demolitions of Palestinian properties and forced evictions, and to cease any activities that could contribute to a coercive environment or lead to forcible transfer. Furthermore, he recommends issuing clear and unambiguous orders to Israeli security forces to ensure the protection of the Palestinian population against settler violence, in line with Israel's obligation as an occupying power; to ensure prompt, effective, thorough, impartial, and transparent investigations and prosecutions of all incidents of violence by settlers and Israeli security forces against Palestinians; and to provide victims with effective remedies. Finally, the Secretary-General recommends all third States to take all lawful measures necessary to effectively ensure respect for applicable international law.

The second report I am briefly introducing today is the Secretary General’s report on the occupied Syrian Golan, which is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 78/77 of 7 December 2023. The General Assembly, through this resolution, called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions on the occupied Syrian Golan, in particular Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council, inter alia, decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and without international legal effect and demanded that Israel rescind forthwith its decision.

The resolution also called upon Israel to desist from changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and in particular to desist from the establishment of settlements.

The report summarizes Member States’ replies received to requests for information regarding any steps taken or envisaged concerning the implementation of the resolution.

Madam Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

The human rights and humanitarian concerns raised continue to deepen each day. Even before the dramatic escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in September, 13 civilians had been killed in the occupied Syrian Golan in the continuing hostilities between these parties, including the loss of 12 children in a single incident last July. More than ever, we must avert the threat of a wider and more horrific war that risks engulfing the lives, the hopes and the human rights of people across the entire region.

To help prevent further cycles of violence, the recommendations of the Secretary-General offer a practical pathway forward. Ending Israel’s unlawful continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and its occupation of the Syrian Golan is an essential step to ensuring peace and security in the region, consistent with the international rule of law.

Thank you.