Turkey has joined seven other Muslim-majority countries in condemning new Israeli measures aimed at tightening control over the occupied West Bank, warning that the steps amount to an attempt to impose unlawful sovereignty and accelerate de facto annexation.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey denounced what they described as “illegal Israeli decisions and measures” designed to entrench settlement expansion and alter the legal and administrative status of the territory.
The statement followed Israel’s approval on Sunday of a package of measures announced by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The moves include allowing Jewish Israelis to purchase land in the West Bank and transferring authority over building permits in parts of Palestinian cities, including Hebron, from Palestinian municipalities to Israeli control.
The eight countries said the measures sought to “impose unlawful Israeli sovereignty” in the occupied territory and warned they would accelerate efforts at annexation and the displacement of Palestinians.
Turkey, which has sharply criticized Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories and downgraded diplomatic ties since the Gaza war, has repeatedly called settlement expansion a violation of international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution.
Smotrich openly framed the latest steps as ideological, saying they were intended to “deepen our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah also condemned the decision, saying it was aimed at “deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank.” The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule over fragmented areas of the territory under the Oslo accords.
The announcement comes days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the United States for talks with President Donald Trump. Washington has formally opposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank, though critics say US pressure has done little to curb settlement growth.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law. Around 3 million Palestinians live in the territory, while a further 200,000 Israelis reside in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, which the United Nations recognizes as part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
© Agence France-Presse