THE Israeli government’s decision to approve the land registration process in the occupied West Bank as “state property” has drawn widespread condemnation from regional countries and international organisations.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday the measure would enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes” and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The decision allows for the revival of the “settlement of land title” processes, frozen since 1967 when Israel occupied the West Bank.
The Palestinian presidency condemned the Israeli move, calling it a “grave escalation and a flagrant violation of international law”, which amounts to “de facto annexation”. It called on the international community, especially the United States and the United Nations, to intervene immediately.
Hamas also denounced the move as an attempt “to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank by registering them as so-called ‘state lands’”.
“It is an attempt to forcibly impose settlement and Judaisation on the ground, in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions,” it said, calling the Israeli action “a null and void decision issued by an illegitimate occupying power”.
Regional countries, including Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, deemed the move illegal under international law and a threat to the two-state solution of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Here is what they said:
Egypt
In a statement, the Egyptian government called the Israeli decision a “dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Qatar
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the approval for the land registration process was “an extension of its illegal plans to deprive the Palestinian people of their rights”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses the need for international solidarity to pressure the occupation to halt the implementation of the decision to avoid its serious repercussions,” it added.
Jordan
According to a statement released by the royal court on Monday, King Abdullah said Israel’s actions were an attempt to “consolidate settlements and impose sovereignty over Palestinian land”, and could “exacerbate the conflict”.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs on Sunday called on the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities, and to compel Israel, the occupying power, to stop its dangerous escalation”.
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “condemnation” of the plans aimed at imposing a “new legal and administrative reality” in the occupied West Bank, saying such measures would “undermine ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region”.
“There is no Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories,” the ministry said unequivocally, rejecting the illegal measures that are a “serious violation of international law” and undermine the two-state solution.
Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli decision and described the move as a “null and void decision”, urging the international community to “deter those Israeli violations”.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to impose non-Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied West Bank,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Any decision to annex land in the occupied West Bank would be considered null and void and illegitimate, and would undermine international efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace in line with Security Council resolutions and the two-state solution,” it stressed.
Pakistan
Islamabad called on “the international community to take concrete measures to end Israeli impunity”.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the latest attempt by the Israeli occupying power to convert areas of the occupied West Bank into so-called state property, and to expand illegal settlement activities,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Israel’s “continued disregard for international law and its provocative actions undermine the prospects for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region”, it added.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The OIC said Israel’s decision was akin to “colonial measures” in the occupied West Bank and called for urgent international action.
The Jeddah-based organisation said Israel’s measures “target the existence of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights”, including the right to self-determination and to establish an independent sovereign state within the borders that existed before the 1967 war, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel reverse its new policy allowing registration of occupied West Bank land as state property.
Guterres said he believes this new measure is “destabilizing” and “unlawful”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“The current trajectory on the ground is eroding the prospect for the two-state solution,” he said.
“The secretary-general reiterates that all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions,” Dujarric told reporters.
European Union
The EU called on Israel to reverse its approval warning it was a “new escalation”.
“This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control” in the occupied West Bank, EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.
“We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law. We call on Israel to reverse this decision,” he added.