New York, 21 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday urged Israel to halt plans for a highly contested settlement project in the occupied West Bank, saying they violate international law and go against UN resolutions.

"The advancement of this project is an existential threat to the two-State solution. It would sever the northern and southern West Bank and have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory," Guterres's spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

A two-state solution refers to an independent Palestinian state that exists peacefully alongside Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a two-state solution - as does the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Wednesday, an Israeli planning committee approved a plan to build about 3,400 housing units in the so-called E1 area, a critical stretch of land between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.

The project would effectively split the West Bank into northern and southern parts, making a contiguous Palestinian state difficult if not impossible.

Israel's decision comes as several countries, including France, Canada and Australia, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

MIA file photo