Palestine envoy urges UN to stop Israeli annexation

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, addressed the UN Security Council on Monday, warning that Israel has accelerated its annexation of occupied Palestinian land while deepening its military occupation in both the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. He stated that the occupying entity has "decided to entrench its occupation rather than bring it to an end," noting that Israel has unlawfully taken control of about 70 percent of the Gaza Strip and has effectively annexed more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank, including all of occupied East al-Quds.

Mansour emphasized that these actions are illegal under international law and also violate US President Donald Trump's so-called "plan and resolution 2803," both of which reject occupation and annexation. He warned that the Tel Aviv regime's policy is designed to block the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.

Focusing on Israel's settlement drive, Mansour warned that plans to expand settlements in the strategically sensitive E1 area would amount to "a death penalty for the Palestinian state and the prospect for peace in our region." The E1 project near al-Quds covers around 12 square kilometers, with some 3,400 illegal settler units in the West Bank. He also slammed Israel for undermining the historic status quo at Muslim and Christian holy sites through repeated incursions while Palestinian communities continue to face home demolitions, forced displacement, and recurring attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.

Palestine's UN envoy further condemned Israel's continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, describing the measure as "not only illegal and part and parcel of stealing our resources, whether financial or natural." He warned the move is intended to bring about the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, with serious political, humanitarian, and regional consequences.

Mansour stressed that, despite widespread international opposition, Israeli annexation is advancing "at a faster pace than ever, more publicly than ever," while Israel continues to ignore international declarations. "Annexation is an act of war. It kills all peace efforts; it cannot be bargained with. It must be stopped," he said. Stressing that "the time for condemning and rejecting annexation is over," he further emphasized, "Now is the time to end it once and for all and to choose resolutely the path of Palestinian self-determination and independent statehood and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states of the region, including Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, towards shared security and prosperity in our region."

According to Mehr News, Mansour's remarks came during a UN Security Council session on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.