Nearly 20 nations view Israel’s moves in the West Bank as a step toward ‘de facto annexation’
Nearly 20 countries on Monday criticized Israel’s recent decision to pave the way for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, calling it a step toward “de facto annexation” and an attempt to undermine potential Palestinian statehood.
The sentencing followed a Security Cabinet decision earlier this month that changed land registration and property acquisition procedures in the West Bank, made it easier for Jewish settlement in the area and deepened Israeli control over the area, including at sensitive locations.
“The changes are far-reaching and lead to a reclassification of Palestinian land as so-called Israeli ‘state land’, an acceleration of illegal settlement activities and a further tightening of Israeli administration,” said the joint statement from 18 countries on Monday.
The nations said the moves were “part of a clear direction aimed at changing the reality on the ground” and that such actions were “a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution.”
The agreements and decisions aimed at promoting them are “a blatant violation of international law” and a step towards what they described as “de facto annexation,” the statement said.
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The declaration was signed by regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Egypt, European powers France and Spain, as well as Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey, among others. It was also supported by the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Palestinian Authority.
Arab leaders attend the 34th Arab League Summit in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. (Thaier Al-Sudani/Pool via AP)
The condemnation followed a similar statement signed by some of these countries, issued immediately after the February 8 Cabinet decision.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at the time that the goal of the new measures was partly to “destroy the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The plan tightened Israeli control throughout the area and facilitated future settlement expansion. It transferred responsibility for building permits for the Jewish settlement in the largely Palestinian city of Hebron from the Palestinian municipality of Hebron to Israel.
An Israeli soldier stands guard during the inauguration ceremony of the newly legalized Jewish settlement of Yatziv near the Palestinian West Bank town of Beit Sahour, January 19, 2026. (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
The changes also affect the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site sacred to Judaism and Islam that has always been a flashpoint of conflict. The decision also affected the location of Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, establishing “a separate municipal authority” responsible for the cleaning and routine maintenance of the holy site.
The plan also called for the publication of land records in the West Bank, meaning potential buyers could identify landowners and approach them to buy. And it repealed a legal provision that prevented non-Muslims from buying property in the region, making it easier to buy property in the West Bank.
In addition, Israeli oversight and enforcement activities have been expanded to include Areas A and B, both of which are supposed to be under civilian control of the Palestinian Authority under the 1990s Oslo Accords, with regard to water violations, damage to archaeological sites and environmental hazards polluting the area.
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