Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has told the global body’s Security Council that the West Bank settlements are “not going anywhere”.
In a speech at a council meeting regarding territory on Tuesday, he emphasised the Jewish people’s “eternal bond with the land of Israel” and called on members to “recognise a simple truth” that “the Jewish settlements in [the West Bank] will remain and continue to develop”.
"[These are] not temporary outposts, but homes, families, and strong, beautiful communities,” he told the council.
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon: “We are not going anywhere. The Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria will remain and develop,” as he accused the UN Security Council of a double standard pic.twitter.com/9ZI5ikHJMS
The session was called by the so-called E5 nations - Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the UK – to discuss the issue of Israeli settlements and the upward trend in settler violence.
Danon, however, rejected the latter aspect entirely, suggesting the council was enforcing double standards on the Jewish State.
“This May, there were 348 Palestinian terrorist attacks in [the West Bank]. Eight pipe bomb attacks, 282 stone-throwing incidents, 32 fire bomb attacks, 24 arson incidents and two serious car ramming attacks,” he said, claiming that 400 more attacks were prevented by Israeli security forces.
"How many of you have condemned these terrorist attacks against Jews?” he went on.
"None of these numbers were reported by the briefers, and none of these attacks were mentioned by any of you.
"This is the bias we are confronting today.”
And he insisted that Israel was cracking down on the issue of settler attacks against Palestinians, with 354 investigations opened, 20 indictments filed, and 35 residents arrested through the first quarter of this year.
"This has led to a decrease in extremist violence,” he added. “That is why calling it ‘settler violence’ is a provocation.
"It denies our connection to the land of Israel. It distracts from constant terrorist attacks against Israelis, and it collectively labels entire innocent communities for the crimes of the marginal extremist minority.”
The latest annual IDF figures show that settler violence increased by almost a third in 2025, while a total of 57 Palestinian terror attacks were recorded last year, resulting in 20 deaths, down from 258 attacks resulting in 35 deaths in 2024 and 847 attacks leading to 41 deaths the year before.
Per the report, the Shin Bet believes that the majority of settler attacks are carried out by a group of around 300 extremist settlers, 70 of whom are thought to make up a “hardcore” bloc responsible for more severe violence.
Officials believe that most of the 300 assailants are spread across 42 “outposts” – settlements considered illegal under Israeli law in addition to international law – and many are officially registered as living in Israel rather than in the territory.
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