Saudi Arabia and seven other countries condemn Israel's decision to confiscate West Bank land
The foreign ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, along with the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Turkey, issued a joint statement expressing their strong condemnation and categorical rejection of the recent Israeli steps in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The statement included the eight countries’ condemnation of the Israeli government’s decision to classify large areas of the occupied West Bank as so-called “state property,” in addition to approving the commencement of procedures to register and settle land ownership in the West Bank, an unprecedented step and the first of its kind since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967.
Changing the demographic and geographic reality
The ministers affirmed that these measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions, and considered this step to be clearly aimed at altering the existing legal and historical status quo in the occupied Palestinian territories. This move comes within the context of a systematic policy to impose new realities on the ground, facilitating settlement expansion and the confiscation of more Palestinian land for the benefit of illegal settlements.
Historical and legal background
Since the 1967 war, the international community has considered the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied territory subject to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own population into the occupied territory or making permanent changes that do not serve the interests of the local population. The issue of "land settlement" and its registration in the name of the occupying power is one of the most dangerous tools used to control Palestinian land. These procedures had been frozen by military orders since the beginning of the occupation to maintain the status quo, but their activation now signals a new phase of de facto annexation of the West Bank.
The implications of the decision for the two-state solution
The statement warned of the serious repercussions of this decision on the prospects for peace in the region, noting that Israel's continued settlement policies and land confiscation directly undermine the foundations of the two-state solution. The designation of West Bank land as "state property" severs the geographical contiguity of a future Palestinian state and renders its establishment practically impossible, thus threatening regional and international security and stability.
A call to the international community
In closing, the eight countries called upon the international community, the Security Council, and international human rights organizations to assume their responsibilities and take immediate action to halt these unilateral Israeli measures. The ministers stressed the need to protect the Palestinian people and their resources, affirming that a comprehensive and just peace can only be achieved by ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
