Israeli attempt to annex West Bank condemned

Arab and Islamic states have condemned Israel's preliminary approval of a bill to extend sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, warning that such a step would scuttle the prospects of implementing the two-state solution to the Gaza conflict, as outlined in United Nations resolutions.

The 120-seat Knesset, Israel's parliament, voted 25-24 on Oct 22 to apply Israeli law to the occupied West Bank. A second bill proposing the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement was passed by 31-9.They both now head to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further debate.

The development came a month after United States President Donald Trump stated he would not allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, and during a visit by US Vice-President JD Vance to Israel.

The votes drew condemnation from the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Palestinian group Hamas, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Jordan and others.

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Israel has no authority over any part of Palestinian territory, urging the international community to reject Israel's "systematic policies of land seizure and annexation".

"The occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, constitute a single geographic unit over which Israel has no sovereignty," it said, warning that Israel's "attempts to impose new realities on the ground" were "null and void", and vowing to challenge them through political, diplomatic, and legal means.

Hamas said the two bills reflected "the ugly face of the colonial occupation". "We affirm that the occupation's frantic attempts to annex West Bank lands are invalid and illegitimate," it said.

In a statement, the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, unequivocally denounced the Israeli Knesset's latest move aimed at annexing the occupied West Bank and imposing alleged Israeli sovereignty over it.

"The OIC asserts that the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which encompasses the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — including East Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) — constitutes a singular geographical entity," it said.

Qatar's Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the move in the "strongest terms", calling the votes a "blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law".

The Saudi Foreign Ministry, in a statement, expressed the kingdom's "complete rejection of all settlement and expansionist violations carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities", saying it undermined the two-state solution.

The United Arab Emirates, which established ties with Israel under the so-called Abraham Accords brokered by Trump in his first term in office, last month warned that it considered the annexation of the West Bank a red line.

Provocative step

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called the bills "null and void", saying the provocative step threatened the already fragile security and stability in the region.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said the ceasefire in Gaza should mark a turning point for all Palestinians, and not be a pretext to tighten control over the West Bank.

"As there is hope at long last in Gaza, the West Bank is being intentionally and brutally carved up," said Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the NRC, in a statement.

Gokhan Ereli, Gulf studies coordinator at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, said the Gulf countries' reaction to the Knesset's move "carries real political weight".

"When Israel talks about annexing occupied land, it strikes at the heart of that vision. Gulf leaders see this not just as a threat to Palestinians, but as a direct test of their strategic position and their credibility at home and abroad," said Ereli.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United Nations has previously said that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that some members of Israel's ruling coalition supported the opposition-sponsored bill despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to abstain.

Dina Yulianti Sulaeman, director of the Indonesia Center for Middle East Studies, said that imposing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank "clearly violates international law".

She noted that the Israeli move further demonstrates the deep-rooted US political alignment with Israel's right-wing agenda.

"Washington's permissiveness has continued to make Tel Aviv feel protected and increasingly open to defying international law and the humanitarian voices of the global public," said Sulaeman.