UN inquiry calls for sanctions against Israel over West Bank settlements

HRC fact-finding mission's report released Thursday is the international body's harshest condemnation of Israeli policy in West Bank since 1967; UN investigators say Israel must withdraw all settlers at once; Israel's Foreign Ministry: Report is one-sided and biased.
 

"Creeping Annexation"    

About 250 settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been established since 1967 and they hold an estimated 520,000 settlers, according to the UN report. The settlements impede Palestinian access to water resources and agricultural lands, it said.

The settlements were "leading to a creeping annexation that prevents the establishment of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination," it said.

After the General Assembly upgraded the Palestinians status at the world body, Israel said it would build 3,000 more settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - areas Palestinians wanted for a future state, along with the Gaza Strip.

The UN human rights inquiry said that the International Criminal Court had jurisdiction over the deportation or transfer by the occupying power of its own population into the territory. 

Read more