Special Correspondent: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have jointly condemned Israel`s decision 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.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the ministers said the move "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 and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." The ministers stated that the 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."
The resolution, adopted in 2016, declared that Israel’s settlement activity in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 has no legal validity and constitutes a violation of international law. The statement also noted that the decision contradicts the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice regarding the legal consequences arising from Israeli policies and practices in the occupied territory, which "underscored the illegality of measures intended to alter the legal, historical, and demographic status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the obligation to end the occupation, and the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force."
The ministers further warned that the step "reflects an attempt to impose a new legal and administrative reality designed to consolidate control over the occupied land."
This, the statement said, undermines the two-state solution, erodes the prospects for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state, and jeopardises the attainment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.
They categorically rejected all unilateral measures "aimed at altering the legal, demographic, and historical status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory." The ministers also stressed that such policies constitute escalation that will further heighten tensions and instability in the occupied territory and the broader region.
The ministers have called upon the international community to assume its responsibilities, taking clear and decisive steps to halt these violations, ensuring respect for international law, and safeguarding the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Foremost among these rights, the statement said, is the Palestinians` right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state on the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as the capital.