A/HRC/37/43 I. Introduction 1. The present report, submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to its resolution 34/31, provides an update on the implementation of that resolution from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017. It is based on monitoring and other information-gathering activities conducted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and on information provided by other United Nations entities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and from Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations and civil society in the Occupied Syrian Golan. It should be read in conjunction with recent relevant reports of the Secretary-General and of the High Commissioner to the General Assembly and to the Council (A/72/564, A/72/565, A/HRC/37/38 and A/HRC/37/42). The quarterly updates of the Secretary-General presented to the Security Council on the implementation of Council resolution 2334 (2016) also provide relevant information.1 2. During the period under review, the Israeli settlement enterprise continued unabated in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with significant new developments. Settlement expansion accelerated, doubling the settlement housing advancement in Area C and East Jerusalem when compared with the previous reporting period, despite a slowdown in the commencement of new construction. The Government of Israel declared that establishing settlements in the West Bank was a natural right of Israeli citizens.2 Conditions contributing to a coercive environment, including a large number of demolitions, forced evictions and acts of settler violence, remained a serious concern. The High Commissioner examines the developments on settlement expansion and the creation of a coercive environment in occupied East Jerusalem. II. Legal background 3. International human rights law and international humanitarian law are concurrently applicable in the occupied Palestinian territory, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In particular, Israel is bound by the obligations of an occupying Power as set out by international humanitarian law. A detailed analysis of the legal framework in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan is contained in recent reports of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/34/38 and A/HRC/34/39). III. Activities related to settlements 4. During the period under review, a sharp increase in settlement planning was witnessed, despite a slowdown in the actual commencement of new construction. Significant political proposals, including draft laws aimed at “regularizing” settlement outposts and changing the boundaries of Jerusalem, were presented, advanced or adopted. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians in Area C continued. A. Settlement expansion 1. Land designation, planning, zoning and tenders 5. Settlement planning accelerated, with plans for almost 10,000 housing units advanced for construction in Area C and East Jerusalem – more than double the number during the previous reporting period. Also included in the plans were some 6,500 housing units in 1 2 2 Available from the webpage of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the MiddleEast Peace Process at https://unsco.unmissions.org/security-council-briefings-0. The preliminary response of the Government of Israel submitted to the High Court of Justice on 21 August 2017 to the petition against the “Regularization” Law is available from https://s3-eu-west1.amazonaws.com/files.yeshdin.org/‫ההסדרה‬+‫חוק‬/Govenment+response+to+regulation+law+petition.pdf (in Hebrew).