Saudi Arabia condemns the transfer of West Bank lands to the state property of the occupation
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the decision by the Israeli occupation authorities to convert large areas of the occupied West Bank into what it calls “state property,” in a new hostile step aimed at expanding settlements and changing the geographical and demographic reality in the Palestinian territories.
The ministry stressed in its statement that these unilateral measures represent a flagrant violation of international law and relevant international resolutions, noting that the occupation’s plans clearly aim to impose a new legal and administrative reality that legitimizes the seizure of Palestinian lands, which directly undermines ongoing international and regional efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.
Violation of international law and undermining of peace prospects
This Israeli move is part of a series of systematic measures targeting the Palestinian presence in the West Bank. Designating land as "state land" is one of the legal tools used by the occupying authorities to confiscate private and public Palestinian land for settlement expansion. These practices are a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own population into the territory it occupies or making substantial changes to the character of that territory.
Observers believe that the continuation of these policies deals a fatal blow to the two-state solution principle, as the fragmentation of Palestinian territories and the isolation of cities and villages from each other makes it impossible to establish a geographically contiguous and viable Palestinian state in the future, something which the Kingdom has repeatedly warned against in international forums.
Saudi Arabia's firm and supportive stance towards Palestinian rights
In its statement, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasized that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, reiterating its absolute rejection of these illegal measures. This stance is a continuation of the Kingdom's historical role in supporting the Palestinian cause, as Saudi Arabia has remained committed to the Arab Peace Initiative it launched in 2002, which calls for Israel's complete withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied in 1967 in exchange for comprehensive peace.
The Ministry concluded its statement by emphasizing that these violations constitute an attack on the inherent right of the brotherly Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their independent and sovereign state within the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Kingdom also called upon the international community to fulfill its responsibilities to halt these transgressions, provide protection for the Palestinian people, and work diligently to revive the path to a just and comprehensive peace.
