UN Chief warns two-state solution slipping away amid West Bank expansion

The UN Secretary General António Guterres has warned prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians are increasingly fragile, urging urgent international action to prevent the collapse of a two-state solution.

Speaking to a UN committee marking its 50th year, Mr Guterres said the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, must be realised “fully, consistently and without delay”, as the world enters 2026 with what he described as a narrowing window for peace.

He pointed to the New York Declaration, endorsed by the UN General Assembly last year, as a clear and actionable path towards a two-state solution, alongside the Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution. But he stressed that declarations must be matched by durable change on the ground.

In Gaza, Mr Guterres said Palestinians continue to face “grave suffering”, noting that more than 500 people have been killed since an agreement reached in October. He called on all parties to fully implement the deal, exercise maximum restraint and comply with international law and UN resolutions.

The Secretary General also urged the rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid at scale, including through the Rafah crossing. He criticised the continued suspension of international NGOs providing aid, warning that it undermines humanitarian principles and worsens the plight of civilians. Shelter, food and education materials, he said, must reach those in need.

Mr Guterres said any sustainable solution in Gaza must be consistent with international law and result in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, being governed by a unified, legitimate and internationally recognised Palestinian authority. Gaza, he stressed, “is and must remain an integral part of a Palestinian state”.

Turning to the occupied West Bank, he warned that illegal settlement expansion, demolitions and displacement are accelerating. More than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced there in 2025 alone, a year that also saw record levels of Israeli settler violence.

He said recent Israeli plans for more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area were “profoundly alarming”, warning they could sever the northern and southern West Bank and seriously undermine the viability of a two-state solution. Such actions, he said, were unlawful, echoing findings by the International Court of Justice.

Mr Guterres also voiced deep concern over a recent report by the UN human rights office on what it described as discriminatory practices in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

He reaffirmed strong support for UNRWA, condemning Israeli legislation and actions that impede the agency’s work, including moves to demolish UNRWA facilities in occupied East Jerusalem. UN premises, he said, are inviolable under international law, and threats against UN staff were “utterly abhorrent”.

The Secretary General urged member states to increase political and financial support, including through the 2026 humanitarian appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory.

“There is only one viable route,” Mr Guterres said, a two-state solution in line with international law and UN resolutions, with Israel and a fully independent, sovereign Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.