UN official says Israel 'consolidating unlawful annexation' of West Bank

The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, has warned that Israel's expansion of its civilian control in the occupied West Bank is entrenching the territory's integration into Israel and constitutes an unlawful annexation. These measures expand Israeli civil control into Areas A and B, which include major Palestinian cities, and make it easier for Jewish Israelis to privately own land. Turk stated the move would accelerate the dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians, render a viable Palestinian state impossible, and violate Palestinians' cultural rights. He called for the decisions to be overturned and for the occupation to end.