The World Reacts to Israeli Occupation and Settlement: The UN Resolutions
Reaction around the world to the Israeli settlements was generally negative. The settlements were seen as the first step to a permanent annexation of the territories gained during the Six-Day War, and the legality of the Israeli presence was questioned strenuously. The United Nations passed a number of resolutions calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories, also declaring the Israeli actions illegal under international law.
For its part, Israel refused to use the term annexation but at the same time continued to rapidly establish Jewish settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As more settlements sprang up in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the more it seemed that Israel’s presence was likely to be permanent.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 was passed on 22 November 1967, which called for Israel to withdraw from the territories it was occupying. Again in 1973 after the Yom Kippur War UN Security Council Resolution 338 reaffirmed Resolution 242 and made it binding.
