Since 1977 Israel has pursued an open policy of settlement building in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Although the Security Council determined that this action constituted a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel continued to settle its nationals and new Jewish immigrants in these territories.

The approval by the Israeli government on 26 February 1997 of a disputed plan to settle a colony in Djabal Abou Ghounaym, in the south of Jerusalem, led to a draft resolution being submitted to the Security Council, which was not adopted due to the repeated veto of the United States on 5 and 21 March 1997.