A/HRC/31/42 State solution. He urged the Government to halt and reverse such decisions in the interest of peace and a just final status agreement.2 9. According to the Israeli non-governmental organization Yesh Din, since May 2011 approximately a quarter of the 100 unauthorized outposts in the West Bank have either been retroactively approved or are in the process of retroactive approval by the Civil Administration’s Supreme Planning Committee. Following the elections in Israel, in March 2015 the new coalition Government committed to establishing an interministerial committee tasked with proposing a framework to promote the legalization of outposts (see A/70/351, para. 14). 10. As reported by the Secretary-General, the retroactive legalization of outposts is considered as another arm of settlement expansion, alongside the planning, tendering and construction process, and the support given to outposts at their outset, such as the security provided by Israel Defense Forces soldiers upon establishment of an outpost. This policy effectively rewards settlers for grabbing land in the West Bank in a process that “frequently involves violations of the rights of Palestinians”. The lack of enforcement of the rule of law and the rewarding of illegal activity further encourage settlement expansion, creating additional obstacles to the objective of a negotiated two-State solution, and the right of Palestinians to self-determination, thereby undermining possibilities of peace (see A/70/351, para. 15). 11. During the reporting period, demolition of Palestinian property continued, accompanied by the forcible displacement of Palestinians, including Bedouins. Despite increased and concerted efforts and advocacy by the United Nations and the international community, the demolitions actually increased. On 18 August 2015, the Israeli Civil Administration carried out demolitions in a Palestinian Bedouin refugee community in Area C, near East Jerusalem. A total of 22 structures were demolished in four communities, located in and around the area of the planned E-1 settlement: Khan al-Ahmar Abu Falah, Wadi Sneysel, Bir Miskoob and Az Zayyem Bedouin. This led to the displacement of 78 Palestinians, including 49 children — mainly Palestine refugees. Many of those refugee families had been displaced four times in the last four years. The four communities are among 46 located in the central West Bank, which is included in Israeli plans to transfer Palestinian Bedouin communities to three designated sites. 12. On 19 August, following the demolitions, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory expressed grave concern, and called for an immediate freeze on demolitions in the West Bank.3 He highlighted the strategic implications of those demolitions, which were occurring in parallel with settlement expansion. He also stressed that the relocation plan for those communities would effectively remove Palestinian presence in and around the planned E-1 settlement project, and warned that the project anticipated the construction of thousands of new Israeli housing units in the West Bank, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The Humanitarian Coordinator recalled that the E-1 project had long been opposed by the international community as an obstacle to the realization of a two-State solution and a violation of international law.4 13. The Secretary-General has stated on several occasions that the implementation of the proposed “relocation” would amount to forcible transfers and forced evictions, 2 3 4 4 “Secretary-General condemns Israeli approval of settlement building in West Bank, urges reversal of decision for sake of peace, ‘just’ final status agreement” (29 July 2015). During the reporting period, the Secretary-General deplored the advancement of settlement activities on several occasions, for instance on 15 May 2015 (see statement at www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=8632). “UN officials call for an immediate demolitions freeze in the West Bank” (18 August 2015). Ibid. See also A/HRC/28/43, para. 11.