West Bank: Regional Foreign Ministers Condemn Israel's Illegal Decisions And Settlement Expansions

Foreign ministers from eight Arab and Islamic states issued a joint statement condemning Israeli decisions in the occupied West Bank. They said the measures seek to impose unlawful Israeli sovereignty, deepen settlement expansion, and create a new legal and administrative reality. According to the ministers, these steps aim at illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people.

The ministers stated that Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territory. They described the Israeli measures as illegal, null and void, and a clear breach of international law. They added that these actions weaken the two-state solution and damage efforts to secure peace and stability across the wider region.

The statement highlighted that Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank violate UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2334. That resolution rejects all Israeli steps that change the demographic makeup, character, or status of Palestinian land occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem. The ministers said such actions also directly contradict binding international legal standards.

The ministers referred to the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the occupied Palestinian territory. The Court found that Israel’s policies and practices there, and its continued presence, are illegal. The opinion stressed the need to end the Israeli occupation and confirmed that annexation of occupied Palestinian lands has no legal effect.

In their joint message, the ministers urged the international community to assume legal and moral responsibilities toward the occupied West Bank. They called on states and organisations to act to compel Israel to stop its dangerous escalation. They also warned against inciting statements issued by Israeli officials, saying such rhetoric further fuels regional tensions.

The ministers stressed that the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood remain central. They said these rights must rest on the two-state solution, in line with resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative. They described this route as the only way to achieve just and comprehensive peace and lasting regional security.

The joint statement came from the foreign ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Republic of Türkiye. Their coordinated position underlined shared regional concern about developments in the occupied West Bank.

The ministers reiterated their absolute rejection of Israeli expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, warning that they drive violence and conflict. They said the actions attack the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital. They stressed that such measures cannot alter the legal status of the territory.

With inputs from SPA