Geneva: Several Arab and Islamic countries Tuesday strongly condemned an Israeli occupation decision to classify areas in the occupied West Bank as so-called "state land." In a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, the ministers also condemned approval to begin large-scale land registration and settlement of land ownership in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967, published by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
According to Kuwait News Agency, the illegal move is a dangerous escalation aimed at accelerating unlawful settlement activity, confiscating land, and entrenching Israeli occupation control through the imposition of illegal sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, they said.
The measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV), and breach relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, including Resolution 2334, the statement pointed out.
The decision contradicts the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, which reiterated the illegality of measures that seek to change the legal, historical, and demographic status of the territory, the obligation to end the occupation, and the prohibition on acquiring territory by force, it added.
The ministers warned the step seeks to impose a new legal and administrative reality that undermines the two-state solution, erodes prospects for a viable independent Palestinian State, and endangers chances for a just and comprehensive peace.
They reiterated their categorical rejection of unilateral measures aimed at altering the legal, demographic, and historical status of the occupied Palestinian territory, warning such policies will fuel tensions and instability across the territory and the wider region.
The statement urged the international community to take clear and decisive steps to stop these violations, ensure respect for international law, and uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people - foremost self-determination, ending the occupation, and establishing an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.