UPDATE - Jordan, Qatar condemn Israeli decision to register West Bank land as ‘state property’

UPDATES WITH QATAR, REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, ADDS MORE TO DECK, REVISES LEDE

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - Jordan and Qatar on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision to register land in the occupied West Bank as “state property,” calling the move a “flagrant violation” of international law, an attempt to annex Palestinian territory and unlawful plans to strip the Palestinian people of their rights.

The Israeli decision “undermines the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, ending the occupation and establishing an independent, sovereign state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry stressed that “Israel has no sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank.

It rejected any Israeli decisions or attempts “to impose sovereignty and laws” on the occupied West Bank, describing such actions as a “clear breach of international law and the existing legal status of the occupied territory.”

The ministry called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and compel Israel, as the occupying power, “to halt dangerous escalation and unilateral measures” in the occupied West Bank.

“Fulfilling the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of an independent state on their national soil, remains the only path toward achieving a just and comprehensive peace that ensures regional security and stability,” it stressed.

The UN and the international community consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied territory, and regard Israeli settlements there as illegal under international law.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also denounced the Israeli move, describing it as an extension of an unlawful plan to strip the Palestinian people of their rights. It stressed the need for international solidarity and urged the global community to pressure Israel to halt implementation of the decision to avoid “serious consequences.”

The ministry reiterated Qatar’s “firm and longstanding” support for the Palestinian cause and reaffirmed its backing for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on international legitimacy and the two-state solution.

Earlier Sunday, the Israeli government approved a proposal to register vast areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property,” the first such measure since Israel occupied the territory in 1967.

Under the Oslo II Accord signed in 1995, Area A is under full Palestinian control, Area B is under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control, while Area C, accounting for about 61% of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli control.

The Accord limits land registration by the Palestinian Authority to Areas A and B, while prohibiting it in Area C.

The move was part of a series of measures approved by Israel’s Security Cabinet last week aimed at expanding illegal settlement building and increasing Tel Aviv’s control of the occupied West Bank.

According to Israeli media, the measures include repealing a law that barred the sale of land in the West Bank to illegal Israeli settlers, unsealing land ownership records, and shifting authority for building permits in a settlement bloc near Hebron from a Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.

Israel has intensified operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since launching its military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. Palestinians view the escalation -- including killings, arrests, displacement and settlement expansion -- as a step toward formal annexation of the territory.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.