RIYADH: Nearly 20 countries on Monday condemned Israel&#39;s recent moves to tighten its control over the occupied West Bank, characterizing them as attempts to annex the territory and undermine Palestinian statehood. Israel has approved a series of initiatives this month backed by far-right ministers, including launching a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;state property&quot; and allowing Israelis to purchase land there directly. The moves &quot;are part of a clear trajectory that aims to change the reality on the ground and to advance unacceptable de facto annexation,&quot; the 18 mostly European or Muslim-majority countries said, in a joint statement. &quot;Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution.&quot; The statement 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 endorsed by the secretaries general League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the Palestinian Authority. In addition to around three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law. The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025. The West Bank, occupied since 1967, will form the largest part of any future Palestinian state.

Middle East

Israel has approved a series of initiatives this month backed by far-right ministers, including launching a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and allowing Israelis to purchase land there directly.

Nearly 20 nations slam Israel's West Bank moves towards 'de facto annexation'

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s UN mission, along with 84 other member states, issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning Israel&#39;s <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-accused-of-move-expanding-jerusalem-borders-for-first-time-since-1967" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">encroaching</a>&nbsp;control of the West Bank, which critics say amounts to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory. &quot;We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel&#39;s unlawful presence in the West Bank,&quot; the statement reads. &quot;Such decisions are contrary to Israel&#39;s obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.&quot; &quot;We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation.&quot;<div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><blockquote class="instagram-media" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DU4Cfr8jS3c/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank"><div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div><div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"> </div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div><div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div><div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div></div></div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DU4Cfr8jS3c/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">A post shared by Pakistan TV Digital (@pakistantvdigital)</a></div></blockquote></div>Separately, according to the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad joined the ambassadors and permanent representatives at the press stakeout organized by the State of Palestine. &ldquo;These unilateral actions constitute clear violations of international law and relevant UN resolutions,&rdquo; the post on X issued by the mission said, adding that the actions undermined the ongoing efforts to &ldquo;promote peace and stability in the region run counter to the spirit and objectives of the Comprehensive Peace Plan, and seriously jeopardize the prospects of achieving a just and lasting settlement based on the Two-State Solution.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-condemns-israeli-west-bank-land-seizures-demands-international-action" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Last week</a>, Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords, in place since the 1990s. On Sunday, Israel&#39;s government also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-approves-west-bank-land-as-state-property-continues-gaza-bombardment-report" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">approved</a>&nbsp;a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;state property&quot; in a move that drew further international condemnation. &quot;We reiterate our rejection of all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem,&quot; the statement continued. &quot;Such measures violate international law, undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region, run counter to the Comprehensive Plan, and jeopardize the prospect of reaching a peace agreement ending the conflict.&quot; The statement was issued on behalf of 85 member nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia, as well as the international organizations of the European Union, League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israels-west-bank-mega-land-grab-draws-international-outrage" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">land registration</a>&nbsp;policy, calling it &quot;destabilizing&quot; and &quot;unlawful.&quot; Excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/new-israeli-west-bank-measures-draw-palestinian-regional-backlash" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">illegal</a>&nbsp;under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Joint statement condemns Israel's encroaching control of the West Bank, critics say it amounts to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory; UN secretary-general calls on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calls it "destabilizing" and "unlawful."

Pakistan, 84 UN member states condemn Israeli West Bank measures

JERUSALEM: Israel&#39;s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;state property,&quot; drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who said it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory. Israel&#39;s foreign ministry said the measure, approved late Sunday, would enable &quot;transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes,&quot; and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan criticized the move as illegal under international law. The Pakistani&nbsp;Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also rejected what it described as Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;illegal measures,&rdquo; strongly condemning attempts by the occupying power to convert areas of the territory into so-called state property and expand settlement activities. The measure is &quot;aimed at imposing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank&quot; that would undermine peace efforts in the region, Saudi Arabia&#39;s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. Jordan&#39;s King Abdullah II said the actions &quot;undermine efforts to restore calm and threaten to exacerbate the conflict,&quot; according to a statement released by the royal court. The European Union called on Israel to reverse the move. &quot;This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control,&quot; EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. &quot;We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law.&quot; UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed that point and called the move &quot;destabilizing,&quot; warning that the &quot;decision could lead to the dispossession of Palestinians of their property.&quot; He also called for the decision&#39;s immediate reversal, adding in a statement from his spokesman that &quot;the current trajectory on the ground is eroding the prospect for the two-State solution.&quot; The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the &quot;de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state.&quot; Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called the measure a &quot;mega land grab.&quot; Jonathan Mizrachi, the NGO&#39;s co-director, told AFP that the move would attribute new resources for land registration. The process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60% of the West Bank&#39;s territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control. &quot;There was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to deal with it,&quot; Mizrachi said, adding that the grey area over Area C land ownership is likely to be used against Palestinians. &quot;A lot of land that Palestinians consider theirs, they will find out it&#39;s not theirs under this new registration process,&quot; he said, believing the move would further the Israeli right&#39;s annexation agenda. Changing demography&nbsp;Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel&#39;s religious right want to take over the land. Last week, Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords, in place since the 1990s. Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority&#39;s control. The latest Israeli initiatives come in the wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to rights groups. &quot;We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave,&quot; UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement. US President Donald Trump has opposed Israel&#39;s annexation of the West Bank, saying stability in the territory helps keep Israel secure. However, Trump has held off from directly criticising the new Israeli measures, despite the international outrage. Excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan criticize move as illegal under international law; Pakistan rejects Israel’s “illegal measures,” strongly condemns attempts by the occupying power to convert areas of territory into "state property."





Israel’s West Bank ‘mega land grab’ draws international outrage

GAZA CITY: The Israeli government on Sunday approved a proposal to register areas of the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/netanyahu-tells-us-envoy-palestinian-authority-wont-be-part-of-postwar-gaza-governance" style="color:#0073e6;">West Bank</a> as &ldquo;state property,&rdquo; and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gaza-civil-defense-says-death-toll-from-israeli-strikes-rises-to-17" style="color:#0073e6;">continued</a> its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 12 people, Al Jazeera reported.&nbsp; Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that the country&rsquo;s Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, and Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, submitted the proposal. The finance minister said the country was &ldquo;continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands.&rdquo;&nbsp; Article 49 of the Geneva Convention states, &ldquo;The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.&rdquo;&nbsp; According to Wafa, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the decision marked a first step toward annexation and undermined the foundations of a Palestinian state. Separately, Gaza&#39;s civil defense agency reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 12 people since dawn, while a military official said the attacks were in response to ceasefire violations. Despite a <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-muslim-nations-denounce-israeli-ceasefire-breaches-killing-palestinians-in-gaza" style="color:#0073e6;">US-brokered truce</a> that entered its second phase last month, violence has continued in the Palestinian territory, with Hamas blaming Israel for violating the agreement. The civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force, said one strike hit a tent of displaced people in northern Gaza and another targeted an area in the south. Five people were killed, and several were injured when an air strike targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in Jabalia in the north, the agency said in a statement. Five more were killed, and several were injured in a separate early morning strike in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the agency said, adding that one more was killed in Israeli shelling in Gaza City. The agency also said that one person was killed by Israeli gunfire in Beit Lahia in north Gaza. The Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals confirmed they had received the bodies of at least seven people. &quot;Israel doesn&#39;t understand ceasefires or truces,&quot; said Osama Abu Askar, who lost his nephew in the Jabalia attack. He said the people killed there were hit as they slept. &quot;We&#39;ve been living under a truce for months, and they&#39;ve still targeted us. Israel operates on this principle &mdash; saying one thing and doing another,&quot; Askar told AFP.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says country was “continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands”; Palestinian foreign ministry affirms that Israeli occupation’s decision represented the first step toward annexation, undermining the foundations of the Palestinian state.

Israel approves West Bank land as state property, continues Gaza bombardment: report

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: In 2025, Israeli forces and settlers killed a total of 240 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 55 children, according to a humanitarian update released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).&nbsp;Of the total, 225 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, nine by settlers, and six in circumstances where responsibility remains unclear.&nbsp;In just two weeks between December 23, 2025, and January 5, 2026, Israeli forces and settlers killed two Palestinians and injured 94 others, including 35 children.&nbsp;One Palestinian also succumbed to injuries sustained earlier in December. During the same period, two Israelis were killed and two others injured by a Palestinian from the West Bank, according to the report.&nbsp;The UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General have urged Israeli authorities to reverse plans to suspend the operations of international non-governmental organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories, noting that these groups collectively deliver close to $1 billion in annual humanitarian assistance.&nbsp;Severe winter weather has further worsened the humanitarian situation, damaging or destroying dozens of tents and makeshift shelters used by Bedouin and herding communities across the West Bank.&nbsp;The report also highlights that more than 830 Palestinians were injured by settler attacks in 2025, averaging nearly two people injured each day. Over the past two weeks, Israeli authorities demolished 50 structures in Area C and East Jerusalem for allegedly lacking building permits.&nbsp;In East Jerusalem&rsquo;s Batn al Hawa area, two Palestinian families were forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for an Israeli settler organization. In Nablus governorate, the last six families of Khirbet Yanun, who had lived there for more than 60 years, were displaced following repeated settler attacks.&nbsp;The report details several recent incidents of deadly violence. On December 23, a Palestinian man from Saffit died from injuries sustained on December 14 when he was shot by Israeli forces while attempting to cross the Barrier toward East Jerusalem near Ar Ram and Dahiyat al Bareed.&nbsp;&nbsp;On December 30, Israeli forces opened fire on a vehicle traveling between Urif and Einabus in Nablus governorate, injuring four Palestinian men in their twenties; one later died from his wounds. A Palestinian man was also shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after being accused of attempting a ramming attack, while no Israeli personnel were injured.&nbsp;On January 1, 2026, Israeli forces opened fire in Al Lubban ash Sharqiyya village, injuring two Palestinians, one of whom was arrested and later pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital. The other escaped.&nbsp;The OCHA report emphasizes that ongoing violence, demolitions, evictions, and settler attacks continue to drive displacement, insecurity, and suffering in the West Bank, disproportionately affecting children and vulnerable communities.

The report notes Israel kills 240 Palestinians in 2025, including 55 children, amid demolitions, evictions, and settler attacks worsening insecurity and humanitarian suffering in the West Bank.

Articles tagged with "israel settlements in West Bank"

Nearly 20 nations slam Israel's West Bank moves towards 'de facto annexation'

Pakistan, 84 UN member states condemn Israeli West Bank measures

Israel’s West Bank ‘mega land grab’ draws international outrage

Israel approves West Bank land as state property, continues Gaza bombardment: report

Israel kills 240 Palestinians, dozens of children among victims: UN