AdSense Advertisement

Pakistan, Arab and Muslim nations condemn Israel’s West Bank “State Land” move

By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - The foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement strongly condemning Israel’s decision to designate large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state land” and to initiate land registration procedures across parts of the territory for the first time since 1967.

The statement was jointly released by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

The ministers described Israel’s move as an “illegal step” and a “grave escalation” aimed at accelerating settlement expansion, land confiscation, and consolidating Israeli control over the West Bank. They said the measure seeks to entrench what they termed unlawful sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory, undermining the rights of the Palestinian people.

The joint statement said the decision violates international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, and contravenes relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334, which calls on Israel to halt settlement activities in occupied territory.

The ministers also referenced an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which affirmed the illegality of actions intended to alter the legal and demographic character of the occupied territory and reiterated the obligation to end the occupation.

According to the statement, Israel’s move risks undermining the two-state solution by eroding prospects for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The ministers reiterated their categorical rejection of unilateral measures aimed at changing the legal, historical, or demographic status of the territory and warned that such actions could further escalate tensions in the region.

They called on the international community to take “clear and decisive steps” to halt what they described as violations of international law and to safeguard the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and statehood.