The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Closed Consultations
Tomorrow afternoon (4 June), Security Council members will convene for closed consultations on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” (MEPQ). Bahrain—supported by Colombia, Denmark, Greece, France, Latvia, Pakistan, Russia, and the UK—requested the consultations following the receipt of a letter dated 1 June (S/2026/452) from the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine regarding recent developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The expected briefer is Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) Ramiz Alakbarov.
The 1 June letter describes several recent Israeli measures in both the West Bank and Gaza that it characterises as attempts by Israel to “further entrench… its annexation of Palestinian territory”. In the West Bank, these measures include the approval of over 3,400 housing units in the E1 zone, an area of land east of Jerusalem whose development would, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), physically isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank “in a manner that contributes to the fragmentation of the [OPT] and the ongoing denial by Israel of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination”. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the project could displace 18 Bedouin communities comprising approximately 4,000 people, including the Khan al-Ahmar community. On 19 May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructed Israeli authorities to implement prior demolition orders against the community—a decision that OHCHR warned puts it at imminent risk of forcible transfer, which constitutes a war crime.
In total, according to the most recent report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 2334 of 23 December 2016, which Alakbarov delivered on 24 March and which covers the period between 3 December 2025 and 13 March 2026, Israeli authorities advanced or approved over 6,000 housing units in the occupied West Bank during the reporting period.
Speakers at tomorrow’s meeting may also express concern about recent Israeli measures to deepen administrative control over parts of the West Bank. On 15 February, Israeli authorities approved funds to implement a May 2025 cabinet resolution to conduct a “land registration process” in Area C, which comprises the approximately 60 percent of West Bank territory that is under full Israeli military control. The registration process, which had been frozen since 1968, will require Palestinian landowners in the area to formally prove ownership or have their land confiscated by Israel as state property. Israeli civil society groups have criticised the decision for demanding proof of ownership under conditions that are “nearly impossible” for Palestinians to satisfy, potentially resulting in their “large-scale dispossession” in a “clear exercise” of annexation. Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the measure in a 16 February statement. Israeli authorities have proceeded with the implementation of the decision, however, reportedly launching an electronic system for “land registry and settlement of rights” on 27 May. According to the 1 June letter, this system will allow Israeli settlers to expropriate Palestinian territory “through the wholesale registration of Palestinian land under Israeli authority”.
Some speakers may also reference the 20 May announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a “comprehensive plan” for the “rescue, preservation, development, and accessibility of heritage and antiquities sites” in the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, and the Judean Desert. According to the 1 June letter, the plan—which Netanyahu stated would “strengthen our hold on the Land of Israel”—will entail the construction and development of tourism centres and related infrastructure in the OPT. On 26 May, media outlet Haaretz reported that Israeli authorities had ordered the expropriation of an area of land surrounding the village of Nabi Samuel, which includes a mosque administered by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Muslim Waqf as well as the archaeological site surrounding it. The order reportedly marks the first time that Israeli authorities have expropriated a holy site administered by the Muslim Waqf in the occupied West Bank.
Speakers may also express concern about the 17 May decision of the Israeli cabinet to build a military facility on the site of the East Jerusalem headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The decision followed Israel’s demolition of structures inside the headquarters compound in January. In a 20 May statement, Guterres condemned the decision as unlawful, emphasising that the site remains inviolable UN premises and urging Israel to rescind its decision and immediately return the compound to the UN.
Continued settler violence in the West Bank is another expected focus of tomorrow’s meeting. According to a 25 May OCHA update, the UN has documented over 870 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that have resulted in casualties, property damage, or both since the beginning of 2026, averaging six attacks per day. Between 12 and 18 May, Israeli forces and settlers killed five Palestinians, including one child, while nearly 60 Palestinians were injured, including six children. More than half of the injuries occurred during settler attacks, while the remainder were mainly recorded in the context of Israeli military operations. In a 1 June press release, 14 UN special rapporteurs expressed alarm at “escalating settler terror and displacement” in the OPT and urged Israel to immediately cease facilitating settler violence and forced displacement and to ensure accountability for settler attacks and effective protection of Palestinian communities.
Although the West Bank is expected to be the main focus of tomorrow’s meeting, speakers are also expected to reference developments in Gaza. They are likely to express concern about ongoing ceasefire violations in the territory and the devastating humanitarian situation. A 29 May press release from OHCHR states that “[a]lmost everyone is displaced and concentrated into less than half the land area of Gaza” and refers to Netanyahu’s recent order for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to seize 70 percent of Gaza’s territory—significantly exceeding the approximately 50 percent that the IDF was permitted to hold during the first phase of the US-brokered “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict”, which the Security Council endorsed through resolution 2803 of 17 November 2025.
The 1 June letter also describes alleged rape and sexual violence committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians as a weapon of war and calls the Secretary-General’s decision to list the Israeli security forces as a perpetrator in his annual report on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) “long overdue” in this regard. Israel has rejected the allegations and announced that it would “sever all ties” with Guterres and his office in response. Hamas was listed as a perpetrator in the Secretary-General’s 2025 CRSV report.
The international community has expressed concern about several of the developments that the 1 June letter highlights. On 8 May, the Security Council’s five European members—Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the UK—convened an Arria-formula meeting on the West Bank, during which most member states voiced alarm at the deteriorating situation and its implications for the viability of the two-state solution, condemning the continued escalation of violence committed by Israeli settlers and forces, as well as the expansion of settlement activity and displacement of Palestinian communities.
On 22 May, nine countries—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK—issued a joint statement that emphasised similar points, stressing that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including the E1 project, are illegal under international law and calling on Israel to “end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces, respect the Hashemite custodianship over Jerusalem’s Holy Sites and the historic status quo arrangements, and lift financial restrictions on the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian economy”. The statement also reiterated the countries’ commitment to a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” based on a negotiated two-state solution in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions. During tomorrow’s consultations, most Council members are likely to echo these messages.
The US, Israel’s closest ally on the Council, is likely to be less critical of the country’s actions in the West Bank. The current administration of US President Donald Trump has been more equivocal than former administrations on its support for the two-state solution, criticised resolution 2334, and remained opposed to broader Council action to pressure Israel in this regard. Nonetheless, the US has stated that it is opposed to Israeli annexation of the West Bank and may reiterate that message tomorrow.
