The United Nations Security Council released a statement that denounced Israeli activity in the West Bank. The United States has—in the past—vetoed many UN Security Council statements against Israel, a close ally and partner in the Middle East, but allowed this statement to be released in lieu of one with more aggressive and potentially provocative language. This alternate draft statement requested that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory,” according to Reuters, but was never released due to an agreement between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Since the 1947, two-state resolution—which gave both the Israelis and the Palestinians their own states—the United Nations has repeatedly intervened in conflicts and other matters. In recent years, Israel has adopted the policy of settler colonialism, in which Israeli citizens are able to move into the West Bank, which was considered to be Palestinian territory in the resolution, and set up villages, towns, and even cities. Violence has ensued as the two sides have clashed over the ‘rightful’ inhabitants, with many arguments citing history and other historical documents such as the Bible as evidence for their claim to the land.

The recent statement of the United Nations Security Council was published in light of Israel’s February 12th statement, which officially recognized an additional nine “settler outposts.” The Israeli government also sanctioned the construction of new homes, effectively encouraging more and more Israeli citizens to move to these outposts and, therefore, expand the Israeli population in the West Bank. Since the 1967 war, in which Israel was able to capture the territory of the West Bank, 132 official settlements have been built, with many other outposts still not recognized by the Israeli state, according to another Reuters article. In the coming months, we will likely see Israel ramp up its construction of settler colonial outposts as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, since the November 1st election last year, included two pro-settler politicians in his cabinet.

Although Israel is a close ally of the United States, the U.S. Ambassador and other government officials have “made clear that … the U.S. administration [opposes] such moves,” citing the two-state resolution as the main reason. Many other countries have denounced Israel for its settler colonialism, as it has significantly destroyed Palestinian communities by forcing Palestinians to live in other regions. Despite such a unified international response, we will likely continue to see Israeli expansion into the West Bank.