UN rapporteur says Israeli occupation itself 'must end'

UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese said on Friday that Israel's occupation itself "must end," criticizing the E1 settlement plan as merely one symptom of a broader system that she urged the international community to dismantle through concrete action including trade sanctions.

ICJ opinion and call for action

In a statement posted on X, Albanese referenced the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion, which established that the occupation violates international law. "It's the occupation itself — not just the E1 plans — that must end," she said, calling on states to halt trade with Tel Aviv and enforce existing legal obligations regarding the protection of Palestinian civilians.

Violence in Gaza and West Bank

Albanese condemned ongoing Israeli military operations and settler violence across the occupied territories, noting that soldiers had severed water pipes in the West Bank while maintaining the siege on Qusra. "In Gaza the pulverization continues and so the massacres," she said, adding that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,200 people, including 300 children, since the ceasefire agreement took effect. She described the situation as "59 years of predatory occupation" and "1,049 days of genocide," criticizing the absence of international sanctions.

International condemnation of E1 plan

The rapporteur's remarks followed a joint statement by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada, who denounced Israel's publication of construction tenders for the E1 project as "unacceptable" and demanded immediate retraction. Israeli rights groups Ir Amim, Bimkom and Peace Now reported that authorities issued a tender for 1,234 settlement units in the contested corridor without prior notice to petitioners challenging the project, effectively reneging on previous commitments.

Settlement expansion and ceasefire breaches

The E1 plan encompasses approximately 12 square kilometers east of Jerusalem, aiming to connect the illegal settlement of Maale Adumim to the city through construction on Palestinian land — a move critics say would bisect the West Bank and render a two-state solution impossible. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Israeli violations of the ceasefire have killed at least 1,283 Palestinians and injured 4,248 others since the truce began, while the US-endorsed agreement meant to end the war launched in October 2023 has faced repeated Israeli breaches.