Israel designates areas of the West Bank as “state property” for the first time since 1967: “It is an annexation”

The initiative has been presented by the Minister of Finance and ultranationalist leader, Bezalel Smotrichthe Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin and the Minister of Defense, Israel Katzwith the intention of regulate agricultural operations and clarify the status of occupied areas in the West Bank, a bureaucratic process whose complexity led Israel to abandon it decades ago.

According to the chain’s information CANthe decision has been made in retaliation for the “illegal settlement procedures that the Palestinian Authority is promoting in Area C” of the West Bank, under exclusive administrative and security control of Israel.

The Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, confirmed shortly afterwards the approval of this “important security and administrative measure aimed at ensure full control, law enforcement and the freedom of action of the State of Israel in the area,” according to the Israeli television channel N12.

Smotrich, for his part, has celebrated the continuation of the “revolution in settlement policy and control over our entire country.”

International opposition

The Palestinian Government has already reacted against this decision through the president Mahmud Abbaswho has denounced what constitutes, in his opinion, “an annexation in fact of the occupied Palestinian territory”.

“It is a threat to security and stability, and a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy”, the Presidency has condemned in a statement collected by the official news agency HE DIED.

“These unilateral measures will not give any legitimacy to the occupation on the land of the State of Palestine and will not change the legal and historical fact that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, is occupied Palestinian territory under international law and international legitimacy,” he concludes.

The Jordanian Government has also condemned the measure, which considers that it is about applying “illegitimate Israeli sovereignty, consolidating the expansion of settlements and creating a new administrative reality in the occupied territories.” Thus damaging the two-state solution and the right of the Palestinian people to an independent and sovereign State on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In that sense, he stressed that Israel “does not have sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian lands”, which is why These measures are “illegal and void” and may cause tension to escalate and threaten Muslim and Christian holy sites in the West Bank.

He Turkish government has also condemned the decision of the Israeli Government that “intends to impose its authority over the occupied West Bank and expand settlements.” It thus seeks the “forced displacement” of the Palestinian population from its own land and “accelerate Israel’s illegal annexation” of these lands “in clear violation of International Law”, which is why it qualifies it as “null.”

Ankara thus criticizes the “intensified expansionist policies by the Government” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “undermine ongoing peace efforts in the region and affect a future two-state solution.

Qatar has criticized the measure to “convert West Bank lands into state property” because it seeks to “deprive the Palestinian people of their rights,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported by the official news agency. QNA. He thus calls for “international solidarity” to “put pressure” on Israel to cease the application of this measure and thus avoid “serious repercussions.”