UN urges Israel to stop new settlement construction in West Bank

The decision is "a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace" in the Middle East, Guterres said in a statement.

"The establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Al-Quds (Jerusalem), has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.

"Settlement expansion... further erodes the possibility of ending the occupation and establishing a contiguous and viable sovereign Palestinian State, based on the pre-1967 lines," Guterres said.

Israel on Sunday approved the construction of illegal 780 homes in the occupied West Bank, ordered last Monday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

All Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank are regarded as illegal by much of the international community.

There are currently some 450,000 Zionist settlers in the occupied West Bank, living amid an estimated 2.8 million Palestinians.