FMs condemn Israeli decision to designate lands in Occupied West Bank as so-called ‘state land’

Islamabad: The Foreign Ministers of eight countries including Pakistan have strongly condemned the Israeli decision to designate lands in the Occupied West Bank as so-called "state land".

In a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar also strongly condemned the approval of the procedures by Israel for the registration and settlement of land ownership across extensive areas of the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.

The Foreign Ministers of these countries said this illegal step constitutes a grave escalation aimed at accelerating illegal settlement activity, land confiscation, entrenching Israeli control and applying unlawful Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The Foreign Ministers of these Arab and Islamic countries affirm that these measures represent a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as a violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 2334.

The decision also contradicts the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice concerning the legal consequences arising from Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, which underscored the illegality of measures intended to alter the legal, historical, and demographic status of the occupied Palestinian territory, the obligation to end the occupation, and the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force.

The statement further said this step reflects an attempt to impose a new legal and administrative reality designed to consolidate control over the occupied land, thereby undermining the Two-State solution, eroding the prospects for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian State, and jeopardizing the attainment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

The Foreign Ministers reiterated their categorical rejection of all unilateral measures aimed at altering the legal, demographic, and historical status of the occupied Palestinian territory.

They stressed that such policies constitute a dangerous escalation that will further heighten tensions and instability in the occupied Palestinian territory and the region as a whole.

The Foreign Ministers called upon the international community to assume its responsibilities and take clear and decisive steps to halt these violations, ensure respect for international law and safeguard the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to self-determination ending the occupation and to establish their independent and sovereign State on the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.