AFP
Nearly 20 countries on Monday condemned Israel’s recent moves to tighten its control over the occupied West Bank, characterising them as attempts to annex the territory and undermine Palestinian statehood.
Israel has approved a series of initiatives this month backed by far-right ministers, including launching a process to register land in the West Bank as “state property” and allowing Israelis to purchase land there directly.
The moves “are part of a clear trajectory that aims to change the reality on the ground and to advance unacceptable de facto annexation”, the 18 mostly European or Muslim-majority countries said, in a joint statement.
“Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution.”
The statement was signed by regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Egypt, European powers France and Spain, as well as Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey, among others.
It was also endorsed by the secretaries general League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the Palestinian Authority.
In addition to around three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.
The West Bank, occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is seen by many on the religious right as Israeli land.
AFP
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