The Arab Group at the United Nations has condemned Israel's illegal settlement expansion across the occupied Palestinian territory and expressed its complete rejection of the E1 settlement plan and related settlement activities east of occupied East Jerusalem.
The Arab Group said the plan constitutes a violation of international law, UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.
The statement was delivered by HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations, during the Security Council's monthly briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York.
The group called on the Security Council to fulfil its responsibilities, ensure respect for international law and implementation of its relevant resolutions, and put an end to the violations.
The Arab Group reaffirmed that the Palestinian question remains central to peace in the Middle East and said a just, comprehensive and lasting peace cannot be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate and inalienable rights.
These include the right to self-determination and to an independent sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The group welcomed growing international recognition of the State of Palestine and reiterated the importance of the New York Declaration and the efforts of the global coalition to implement the two-state solution.
It also condemned what it described as continuing serious Israeli violations across the occupied Palestinian territory, including the targeting of civilians, settlement expansion, land confiscation, home demolitions, forced displacement and settler violence.
The Arab Group rejected all measures aimed at entrenching the occupation or imposing Israeli sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territory, saying such measures are null and void and violate international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334 (2016).
On Gaza, the group condemned Israel's announced rejection of the roadmap aimed at completing implementation of the comprehensive plan of US President Donald Trump to end the conflict in Gaza, which was endorsed by Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025), as well as Israel's rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
It said these positions directly reject the comprehensive plan, threaten its implementation and undermine collective efforts towards a just and lasting peace.
The Arab Group said the roadmap accepted by the Palestinian factions followed intensive efforts by mediators including Qatar, Egypt, Türkiye, the United States, the High Representative for Gaza and the Peace Council.
According to the statement, the roadmap represents an important step towards restricting weapons alongside the withdrawal of Israeli forces, deployment of the International Stabilisation Force, transfer of administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and reconstruction of the Strip as set out in the comprehensive plan.
The group reiterated the need for the full and immediate implementation of the plan to address the humanitarian situation, ensure security and stability, support reconstruction and recovery, and allow the immediate, safe, sustained and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.
On the occupied West Bank, the Arab Group condemned what it described as a dangerous escalation, including increasing settler violence against Palestinian civilians, and called on the international community to ensure Israel stops these practices and that those responsible are held accountable.
It also reaffirmed the geographical and political unity of the occupied Palestinian territory and stressed the central role of the Palestinian Authority, while condemning measures that weaken it, including the withholding of clearance revenues and actions affecting the Palestinian banking sector.
The group further condemned Israeli measures targeting the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, as well as the legal and demographic status, of occupied Jerusalem.
It referred to the outcomes of the ministerial meeting held in Jordan earlier this month in support of Jerusalem and its holy sites, which reaffirmed support for the historic Hashemite custodianship over Muslim and Christian holy sites in the city.
The Arab Group also stressed the indispensable role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and called on the international community to provide the support necessary for the agency to carry out its UN mandate.
It condemned Israeli actions against UNRWA, including what it described as the latest raid and evacuation of the agency's Qalandia Centre, saying the action violated international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its agencies.
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