U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that escalating violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has spiraled out of control, with mounting attacks by Israeli settler terrorists threatening to forcibly displace Palestinian communities from their land.
"In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians continue to suffer daily attacks by Israeli settlers. The clear goal is to drive communities off their land," Guterres told reporters.
He said the situation in the occupied territories is "simply out of control" as Israeli illegal settlers also target journalists and diplomats.
On Gaza, the U.N. chief pointed out that essential humanitarian assistance remains "severely restricted" ahead of winter, compounding obstacles facing the Security Council-backed roadmap to resolve the conflict.
Guterres stressed that the World Food Program "urgently" requires $450 million to feed populations across Gaza and the West Bank over the next six months, noting that the sum equals approximately 90 minutes of global military expenditures. He appealed to international donors to step up while urging an end to the occupation to achieve a viable two-state solution.
Guterres compared modern conflicts to the climate phenomenon El Nino, and cautioned that cascading hostilities are reverberating through international energy markets, shipping corridors, and financial systems.
He linked widespread street protests over inflation, food, and fuel directly to the fallout of expanding global wars. "War does not create all these inequalities, but it feeds and exploits them," Guterres said, emphasizing that while street violence is unacceptable, authorities cannot allow disorder to obscure the legitimate cost-of-living grievances of peaceful protesters.
Guterres also dismissed concerns about institutional damage to the UN from violations of international law, declaring that the real crisis is the suffering of ordinary civilians whose survival is threatened by war-induced inflation and violence.
"The problem is not for the United Nations. The problem is for the people that is suffering dramatically everywhere," he said.