Regional powers, Palestinian factions, and official institutions issued sharp condemnations after Israel approved a series of legal and administrative measures that deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank, widely described as paving the way for large-scale de facto annexation.
Key Takeaways
- Arab and Islamic states jointly rejected Israel’s measures as illegal and null.
- Egypt warned that the steps violate international law and the 1997 Hebron Agreement.
- Palestinian political groups described the decisions as an existential annexation threat.
- The measures expand Israeli authority into Areas A and B and over the Hebron holy sites.
- Calls intensified for international intervention, particularly by the UN.
Joint Condemnation
Eight Arab and Islamic countries issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s decisions aimed at imposing sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and reshaping the legal and political reality on the ground.
Following a meeting of the foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Türkiye, the statement warned that Israel’s expansionist policies accelerate illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people.
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The ministers reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory and declared the measures null and void, citing violations of international law and UN resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemns attempts to alter the demographic composition, character, and status of territory occupied since 1967.
They stressed that recognizing the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only path to regional stability.
Egypt: Breach of Law and Agreements
Egypt strongly condemned the Israeli decisions, describing them as a “flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions.”
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the measures include declassifying land registry records, facilitating the seizure of Palestinian property, transferring municipal powers in Hebron (Al-Khalil) — including authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque — to Israeli occupation authorities, and imposing mechanisms that enable the demolition of Palestinian buildings.
Cairo said the steps deliberately undermine the existing legal and historical status quo and constitute a clear breach of the 1997 Hebron Agreement.
Egypt rejected all annexation and settlement policies, warning that unilateral Israeli actions undermine prospects for peace, weaken the two-state framework, and fuel further instability across the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region. It urged immediate international action to halt Israeli violations and protect Palestinian rights.
Hamas: “Colonial Program” and Existential Threat
Hamas said the new decisions approved by Israel’s security cabinet confirm a colonial program aimed at swallowing Palestinian land and displacing its original inhabitants.
Spokesman Hazem Qassem described the measures as a real existential threat, accusing Israel’s far-right government of expanding what he called a war of annihilation across all Palestinian geography.
He called for practical Palestinian unity and a national response to confront Israel’s escalating policies.
PLO Warns of De Facto Annexation
The Palestine Liberation Organization also condemned the measures, with Rawhi Fattouh, chairman of the Palestinian National Council, describing them as “racist and dangerous.”
Fattouh said the decisions reflect Israeli plans to annex the West Bank and impose new colonial realities on the ground, particularly through the transfer of planning and construction authority in Hebron from Palestinian institutions to Israel’s Civil Administration.
He warned that these steps violate international law and deliberately undermine signed agreements, including the 1997 Hebron Protocol, calling them an unprecedented escalation in Israel’s colonial liquidation policy.
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Expanding Control
Israeli media reported that the cabinet decisions include repealing a Jordanian-era law barring the sale of Palestinian land to Jews, unsealing land ownership records, and transferring building permit authority in a Hebron settlement bloc from the Palestinian municipality to Israel’s Civil Administration.
The measures also expand Israeli oversight into Areas A and B — zones designated under the Oslo Accords as being under Palestinian civil administration — allowing demolitions and seizures of Palestinian property even in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian officials and international bodies have warned that these steps mark the most dangerous shift since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, paving the way for large-scale annexation while further eroding what remains of the international legal framework governing the occupation.
(PC, Al-Jazeera, Anadolu, Telegram)
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