New York: The Group of Arab States at the United Nations condemned the Israeli occupation's illegal settlement expansion policies across the occupied Palestinian territories, and rejected the the E1 settlement plan and related settlement activities in the occupied East Jerusalem (Al-Quds).
The Arab Group noted that it constitutes a violation of international law and UN Resolution 2334, as well as the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), calling on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to assume its responsibilities and ensure respect for international law and the implementation of its relevant resolutions and put an end to these unprecedented violations.
This came during the Arab Group speech, delivered by Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, before the UN Security Council's monthly briefing meeting held the UN headquarters in New York, regarding the item on the situation in West Asia, including the Palestinian question.
Her Excellency reaffirmed that the Palestinian question remains central to peace in West Asia, and that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace cannot be achieved without the ending of the Israeli occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate rights, foremost among them their right to self-determination and the independence of their sovereign state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In this regard, she pointed out that the Arab Group welcomes the growing international recognition of the State of Palestine and the efforts of the Global Coalition to Implement the two-state solution and reiterates its appreciation for the importance of the New York Declaration.
HE Qatar's Permanent Representative at UN affirmed that the Arab Group condemns the Israeli occupation's ongoing grave violations throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, including the targeting of civilians, settlement expansion, land confiscation, house demolitions, forced displacement and colonist terrorism. She also said that the Group categorically rejects all measures aimed at entrenching the occupation or imposing Israeli sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territories, pointing out the invalidity of these measures that constitute a blatant violation of international law and the relevant UNSC resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334 (2016).
In regard to the situation in the Gaza Strip, Her Excellency stressed that the Arab Group condemns the Israeli occupation's declared rejection of the road map aimed at completing the implementation of the comprehensive plan of President of US Donald Trump, to end the conflict in Gaza, which was supported by UNSC Resolution 2803 (2025), as well as the Israeli refusal to establish a Palestinian state. She also noted that these positions represent a direct rejection of the comprehensive plan, threaten its implementation, and fundamentally undermine the collective efforts made to achieve a just and lasting peace.
The roadmap accepted by the Palestinian factions came as the culmination of intensive efforts by the mediators, namely the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Turkiye, the United States of America, the High Representative for Gaza, and the Peace Council, she added.
Her Excellency said that the Arab Group emphasizes, once again, the urgent need for the full and immediate implementation of the comprehensive plan, which will contribute to addressing the grave humanitarian situation, ensuring security and stability for all in Gaza, paving the way for reconstruction and recovery, and enabling immediate, safe, sustainable and unhindered access for humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip.
In regard to the situation in the occupied West Bank, HE Qatar's Permanent Representative at UN said that the Arab Group condemns the dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank, including the rise in colonist violence against Palestinian civilians, which has caused an unprecedented number of innocent Palestinian civilian casualties in 2026, including children, and calls on the international community to compel the Israeli occupation to cease these unlawful practices, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that they do not enjoy impunity.
The Arab Group also condemns the Israeli occupation's measures aimed at changing the Arab, Islamic, and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem and its legal and demographic status, in violation of international law and Israel's obligations as the occupying power.
In this context, Her Excellency pointed out the outcomes of the ministerial meeting to support Al-Quds and its holy sites, held in Jordan in early August, affirming the cruciality of Al-Quds and the Palestinian cause, and condemning the Israeli occupation's violations in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attempts to change the existing historical and legal status thereof.
Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani indicated that the Arab Group also affirms the indispensable role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and calls on the international community to provide the agency with the necessary support to enable it to carry out its UN mandate.
The Group adds that it condemns all Israeli violations against the Agency, the latest of which was the storming and evacuation of the Agency Qalandia Center, and considers it a flagrant violation of international law, a violation of the immunities and privileges of the UN and its agencies, and of the advisory opinion of the (ICJ).
