AMMAN — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “strongly” condemned recent Israeli decisions and measures in the occupied West Bank, describing them as illegal and a violation of international law.

 

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said the measures aim to impose unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrench settlement expansion, and establish a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied territory, undermining the two-state solution and violating the Palestinian people’s right to an independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.

 

The ministry stressed that Israel holds no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian land.

 

Ministry spokesperson Fouad Majali voiced Jordan’s condemnation and rejection of the unilateral Israeli actions, calling them illegal and invalid, and in clear breach of international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns measures aimed at altering the demographic and legal status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.

 

He also cited the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice affirming the illegality of annexing occupied Palestinian territory and the need to end the occupation.

 

Majali warned that the continuation of expansionist and unlawful policies by Israel’s extremist government in the occupied West Bank would further fuel cycles of violence and instability in the region.

 

He urged the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities by pressuring Israel to halt its escalation in the occupied West Bank and to respect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state, describing this as the only path to a just and comprehensive peace that ensures regional security and stability.

 

Israel's security cabinet has approved a package of decisions aimed at deepening Israeli control and cementing "de facto annexation" of wide areas in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.

 

The decisions, driven by Israeli defence minister Israel Katz and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, aim for massive settlement expansion with legal complications attached to their cancellation, the Hebrew-language website reported.

 

One decision involves declassifying the West Bank land registry, which will be open and allow access to landowners' names and direct approaches to purchase land from them.

 

Israeli media reports said that the cabinet-approved decisions contradict the 1997 Hebron Agreement, and that Netanyahu's government seeks to implement a plan to annex the occupied West Bank before elections scheduled for October, according to their official date.

 

Another decision involves enacting legislation cancelling the ban on selling West Bank land to non-Arabs, removing the requirement for approval of property transactions, and allowing settlers to purchase land individually rather than only through companies. This eliminates the current requirement for Jews generally and settlers specifically to purchase property, enabling them to buy land freely without bureaucratic procedures.

 

Israeli occupation authorities will transfer building licensing powers in Hebron city, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, from Hebron municipality to the "Civil Administration" unit in the occupation army, which falls under Smotrich's responsibility. This decision will, according to Ynet, lead to expansion of the settlement outpost in Hebron and empty the Hebron Agreement of its content.

 

The settlement outpost in Hebron will become an independent local authority, and this will apply to "Rachel's Tomb" in Bethlehem, which will be separated from Bethlehem municipality through establishing a "local authority directorate," thus "annexing this area to Israel."

 

The Israeli government's security cabinet approved imposing oversight and enforcement on buildings without building permits in Areas A and B on the pretext they affect heritage sites and archaeological locations, meaning the occupation will be able to confiscate Palestinian land and demolish buildings.

 

A statement from the "Civil Administration" noted that the Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the holy sites for Muslims. Ramadan will begin in the coming days, known to be a sensitive and potentially inflammatory period.

 

"Due to the high religious, political and international sensitivity of the Ibrahimi Mosque, a unilateral change in its status would provoke widespread condemnation, lead to diplomatic pressure and escalate security tensions in the area as well. Therefore, the Civil Administration does not support this proposal," the statement said.

 

The statement added that "the Civil Administration does not currently support granting local authority powers to the Hebron directorate regarding settlers, but believes it should be approved after Ramadan."