AMMAN — Jordan, UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt have condemned “in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank.”

 

In a joint statement on Monday, the eight countries’ foreign ministers denounced the Israel’s measures aimed at “accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people.”

 

They reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories.

 

Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures on Sunday set to deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank, paving the way for further settlement expansion in the Palestinian territory.

 

The ministers warned against the continued expansionist Israeli policies and illegal measures pursued by the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank, which they said fuel violence and conflict in the region.

 

In the statement, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, the foreign ministers expressed their “absolute rejection of these illegal actions, which constitute a blatant violation of international law, undermine the two-state solution, and represent an assault on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to realise their independent and sovereign state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.”

 

“Such actions also undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

 

The statement said that that these illegal measures in the occupied West Bank are null and void and constitute a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, as well as the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which found that Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories and its continued presence is illegal.

 

The ministers also called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to compel Israel to halt its dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank and the inciting statements of its officials.

 

They stressed that the fulfillment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood, based on the two-state solution in accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, remains the only path to achieving just and comprehensive peace that ensures security and stability in the region.

 

The Israeli measures, announced by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, include the removal of decades-old regulations barring Jewish citizens from purchasing land in the West Bank, according to a joint statement by the two ministers.

 

The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah condemned the decision, saying it was aimed at “deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank.”

 

The presidency said the “decisions reflect an open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion, land confiscation, and the demolition of Palestinian properties, even in areas under Palestinian sovereignty.”