New York

31 January 2013

Note to correspondents in response to questions about the report of the Fact Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements

The Secretary-General takes note of the report of the Fact Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements. He notes that the Fact Finding Mission is an independent body and that its report is to be considered by member states in March at the upcoming Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

The Secretary-General has repeatedly made his views on Israeli settlements clear. All settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law. It also runs contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map.