A/HRC/25/39 rights throughout their operations. The mission recommended that the Working Group on Business and Human Rights be seized of this matter. III. Status of implementation of the recommendations of the factfinding mission A. Israeli settlement activity and recourse to remedy for Palestinians 6. As noted in the report of the Secretary-General on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session (A/68/513), Israel has continued to play a leading role in the creation and expansion of settlements in violation of international law. Notwithstanding the recommendations made to Israel by the fact-finding mission in its report and the renewal of peace negotiations mediated by the United States of America, Israel has continued to promote settlement expansion. As affirmed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 22/29, Israeli settlement activities undermine international efforts with respect to the peace process and the realization of a two-State solution. 7. From March to November 2013, plans for at least 8,943 new settlement units were promoted by the Government of Israel in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.2 Israel has also made a number of public announcements regarding settlement construction, for example on 30 October, when it announced the construction of 5,000 new units in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, a day after the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners in the context of the peace process. The Secretary-General publicly deplored the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, on a number of occasions, and has repeatedly stated that settlements are in violation of international law, and that all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem must cease.3 He urged Israel to heed the calls of the international community and abide by its commitments under international law and the Quartet road map.4 8. The continued fragmentation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, through Israeli settlement expansion has gone hand-in-hand with the construction of the wall, the destruction of Palestinian-owned property and the forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians, including Bedouin communities. These acts violate Israel’s obligation to protect the population under occupation and run counter to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of 4 July 2004, and may have further undermined the possibility for the Palestinian people to realize their right to self-determination through the creation of a viable State.5 9. As at November 2013, Israel had not provided remedy for Palestinian victims for the harm suffered as a consequence of human rights violations resulting from settlements. The United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, established in 2007, collected more than 38,500 claims and more than half a million supporting documents in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Of 2 3 4 5 See A/HRC/25/38. See www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7314 and www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sgsm15427.doc.htm. See www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sgsm15108.doc.htm and www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sgsm15427.doc.htm. See A/HRC/24/30. 3