UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s West Bank settlement expansion plan negatively affects Palestinians and increases the risk of displacement, United Nations’ (UN) humanitarians said Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said the more than 3,000 housing units planned for settlers as part of the E1 project would cut off the northern and central West Bank from the south, creating a devastating humanitarian impact.
Ocha said the wider occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) would feel the effect, with 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities facing a higher risk of displacement.
“This plan also involves the construction of a bypass road diverting Palestinian traffic away from the main Jerusalem-Jericho road,” the office said. “In this context, Ocha notes that such roads undermine territorial contiguity, increase travel times, and negatively affect people’s livelihoods and access
to services.”
Ocha added that a longstanding Israeli plan to encircle the E1 area with additional sections of the wall would further restrict movement and access, running counter to the International Court of Justice’s 2004 advisory opinion that all sections of the barrier built within the OPT must be dismantled.
The humanitarian office also reported that the situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly dire, with children and adults killed, injured and displaced daily. Starvation and malnutrition continue to worsen. The United Nations and its partners are working to bring food and other critical supplies into Gaza to prevent further catastrophe.
“It is critical that the Israeli authorities facilitate humanitarian operations, including shelter support, wherever people are, including Gaza City and in the north of the strip,” the office said.
Ocha said its partners estimate that 1.4 million people require 3,500 truckloads of tents, tarpaulins and basic household items.
It added that restrictions on international non-governmental organizations and the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees continue to block shelter deliveries. / XINHUA
