UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the decision of Israel's Higher Planning Committee to approve more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
"Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are a violation of international law and run directly counter to UN resolutions," the statement said.
"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," it added.
The secretary-general reiterated his call for the Israeli government to halt all settlement activity immediately and to comply fully with its obligations under international law, as well as to act by relevant UN resolutions and in line with the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion of July 19, 2024, it added.
Israel's Higher Planning Council authorized 3,753 housing units on Wednesday, including 3,401 for final approval in the E1 neighborhood of Ma'ale Adumim. The project would link settlements to create a continuum separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
UN chief condemns Israel's approval for new settlements in West Bank
UN chief condemns Israel's approval for new settlements in West Bank
The Urumqi–Yuli Expressway, which traverses the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, opened to traffic on Friday after more than five years of construction, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and enabling faster, more efficient movement of goods and services across the region.
The expressway is a core component of the G0711 national highway network, spanning 324.7 kilometers.
Stretching 2,500 kilometers, the Tianshan Mountains span central Xinjiang, separating Urumqi, the largest city in the north, from Korla, the largest city in the south. With the opening of the expressway, travel time between these two cities is reduced from seven hours to about three hours.
As a key component of the expressway and the world's longest expressway tunnel, the 22.13-km Tianshan Shengli Tunnel officially opened to traffic on the same day.
The tunnel's construction incorporated multiple cutting-edge technologies and innovations, including advanced survey and design methods for ultra-long tunnels and intelligent construction techniques.
"We have established a relatively systematic, comprehensive, and highly efficient management system for major engineering technological innovation across the entire expressway, and have accumulated extensive construction and management experience in delivering mega-projects under extreme environmental conditions," said Song Hailiang, chairman of the China Communications Construction Group.
The expressway connects Urumqi with the northern city belt and the southern urban clusters of Xinjiang, linking the Junggar Basin and the Tarim Basin. It enables rapid transportation between Urumqi, Kashgar, and Khorgos, strengthening Xinjiang’s role as a strategic hub for both the domestic market and international trade.
"With the expressway now operational, business opportunities are flowing in, and many inland companies are coming to sign agreements with us," said Yu Ruihong, chairwoman and general manager of the Xinjiang Ruiyuan Dairy.
"The Urumqi–Yuli Expressway significantly improves Xinjiang's connectivity with the eastern coastal regions and the New International Land–Sea Corridor, supporting the development of a modern, comprehensive, three-dimensional transportation network and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation," said Zhou Rongfeng, director general of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport.
Urumqi-Yuli Expressway boosts Xinjiang's trade connectivity, strengthens regional integration
