The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning Israel's decision to designate large areas in the occupied West Bank as "state land," describing the move as a serious escalation that violates international law and undermines prospects for peace.
According to an official statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the top diplomats of eight countries criticized Israel's approval of procedures to register and settle land ownership across extensive areas of the West Bank, the first such measure since 1967.
The ministers said the step is illegal and warned that it will accelerate settlement expansion and land confiscation.
"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," the joint statement said.
They argued the decision breaches international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, "foremost among them Resolution 2334," which calls on Israel to halt settlement activity.
The statement also referenced an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying the measure contradicts findings that policies altering the legal, historical, and demographic status of the occupied territory are unlawful.
The ministers warned that the move appears designed to impose "a new legal and administrative reality" that threatens the viability of a two-state solution and risks further destabilizing the region.
Reaffirming their rejection of unilateral measures, the ministers urged the international community to take "clear and decisive steps" to halt violations and protect Palestinian rights, including self-determination and the establishment of an independent state along the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.
