Palestinian children play on a trampoline in Umm Safa village, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, opposite an Israeli flag that was raised on a hilltop overlooking the village on Feb. 16. (AFP)
Türkiye and several prominent Islamic nations have once again condemned Israel’s decision to pave the way for more settlements into West Bank, urging the international community to impose pressure on the Netanyahu government to stop this trend.
The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement on Feb. 17, condemning “the decision issued by Israel to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as so called ‘state land’ and approve procedures for the registration and settlement of land ownership across extensive areas of the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.”
According to the statement, the ministers urged that the Israel’s 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 (OPT) and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
“The Ministers 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,” read the statement.
The decision by Israel also contradicts the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice concerning the legal consequences arising from Israeli policies and practices in the OPT, which underscored the illegality of measures intended to alter the legal, historical and demographic status of the OPT, the obligation to end the occupation, and the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force.
“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 joint statement stated.
The 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.
In the meantime, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan exchanged phone conversations with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Jordan on Feb. 16 to discuss recent developments in the region, especially in Gaza.
