The foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority nations have issued a powerful joint statement condemning Israel's recent decision to designate vast areas of the occupied West Bank as "state land," warning that the illegal move constitutes a grave escalation aimed at entrenching Israeli control and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. The joint statement, issued on Tuesday, was signed by the top diplomats of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, representing a unified front against what they describe as a flagrant violation of international law.
The ministers declared that "this 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 and undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people". They emphasized that the Israeli decision, which approves procedures for registering and settling land ownership across extensive areas of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, represents an attempt to "impose a new legal and administrative reality designed to consolidate control over the occupied land".
The joint statement meticulously detailed the legal framework that Israel's actions violate, affirming that these measures represent a "flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention". The ministers specifically cited United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory as illegal, and noted that the decision contradicts the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICJ's landmark opinion declared Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory unlawful and affirmed the prohibition of acquiring territory by force. The eight-nation statement underscored that the ICJ's findings "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". By invoking these authoritative international legal sources, the ministers made clear that Israel's actions have no validity under established global norms.
The ministers warned that Israel's decision to claim West Bank land as state property directly threatens the viability of a two-state solution, which has long been the internationally endorsed framework for achieving a just and lasting peace. This step, they affirmed, 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 Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, has described the Israeli move as a "de facto annexation of occupied Palestinian land" and an official launch of annexation plans aimed at consolidating the occupation through illegal settlement expansion. Palestinian officials warned that the measure constitutes "a termination of the signed agreements" and a "dangerous escalation against Palestine" that threatens regional security and stability. The Palestinian Presidency called for urgent international intervention to prevent what it termed the "de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state."
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added his voice to the chorus of international condemnation, with his spokesman stating that the measure is "destabilizing and unlawful". The UN chief warned that the decision "could lead to the dispossession of Palestinians of their property and risks expanding Israeli control over land in the area," and reiterated that all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, "have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions".
The eight Muslim nations, many of which have worked with the Trump administration on plans for Gaza, 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". The European Union separately called on Tel Aviv to reverse the move, while Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan also issued individual condemnations of the illegal decision.