UN Presses Two-State Path as Guterres Warns E1 Expansion and Aid Curbs Threaten Peace

Overview

• Meeting at UN Headquarters, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People opened its 2026 session, elected Coly Seck as chair and adopted its programme of work.
• Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the occupation must end and reaffirmed that a two-state solution is the only viable route, urging rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access including through Rafah.
• He cautioned that Israel’s tender for 3,401 housing units in the E1 area would sever the West Bank and deliver a severe blow to the viability of a Palestinian state.
• UN officials condemned Israeli actions restricting UNRWA, highlighting the 25 January demolition of the agency’s Sheikh Jarrah compound and stressing the inviolability of UN premises under international law.
• Humanitarian groups reported that Israel’s 30 December notices deregistering 37 international NGOs have already blocked staff rotations and disrupted relief programmes and supply chains into Gaza.