Israel has no sovereignty over West Bank, says foreign ministers of Arab and Muslim nations

The Foreign Ministers of the UAE, Türkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people.

They reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Ministers warned against the continued expansionist Israeli policies and illegal measures pursued by the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank, which fuel violence and conflict in the region.

The Ministers expressed their absolute rejection of these illegal actions, which constitute a blatant violation of international law, undermine the two-state solution, and represent an assault on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to realise their independent and sovereign state on the 4th June 1967 lines, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.

Such actions also undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region.

The Ministers affirmed that these illegal measures in the occupied West Bank are null and void and constitute a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, as well as the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which found that Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory and its continued presence is illegal, affirmed the necessity of ending the Israeli occupation, and the nullity of the annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.

They renewed their call on the international community to fulfil its legal and moral responsibilities and to compel Israel to halt its dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank and the inciting statements of its officials.

They stressed that the fulfilment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood, based on the two-state solution in accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, remains the only path to achieving just and comprehensive peace that ensures security and stability in the region.

WAM