Arab League and 19 countries condemn Israel's 'de facto annexation' of West Bank
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League, and 19 other countries, including Spain, Ireland, Norway and Portugal, have condemned Israel's recent decisions to extend its control over the occupied West Bank.
The joint statement warns against changing the reality on the ground and the advancement of "unacceptable de facto annexation", urging Israel to halt settlement expansion and respect international law.
The foreign ministers stressed that Israeli settlements constitute “a flagrant violation of international law”, including previous UN Security Council resolutions and the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.
Calling on the Israeli government to reverse the decisions immediately, they urged it to respect international obligations and refrain from actions that would permanently alter the “legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territory".
"These decisions follow the unprecedented acceleration of Israel’s settlement policy, with the approval of the E1 project and the publication of its tender," the statement reads, referring to the highly controversial settlement project that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said "buries the idea of a Palestinian state".
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"Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian State and the implementation of the two-State Solution,” the statement continued.
The joint statement reiterated the rejection of all measures “aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.”
“In view of the alarming escalation in the West Bank, we also call on Israel to put an end to settler violence against Palestinians, including by holding those responsible accountable,” the statement said.
'De facto annexation'
On 8 February, the Israeli government approved sweeping changes to land registration and civil control in the occupied West Bank, a move Palestinians say breaches the Oslo Accords and advances de facto annexation.
Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the changes would “dramatically” alter West Bank policy, paving the way for expanded settlements and land seizure.
In a joint statement, they said the measures would remove legal barriers to Israeli settlers and accelerate settlement development.
Katz said the aim was to give settlers equal "legal and civil rights", while Smotrich vowed to “continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the policy was designed to deepen annexation of the West Bank and violated agreements signed with Israel, including the Oslo Accords, according to the Wafa news agency.
The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 and 1995 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), established limited Palestinian self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza, dividing the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C as a temporary framework for a future Palestinian state - a goal that has never been realised.
Under the new Israeli measures, the military would be able to enforce regulations on so-called unlicensed buildings in Areas A and B, citing heritage and archaeological sites, allowing for the confiscation of Palestinian land and demolition of structures.
The changes would also lift secrecy on West Bank land registries, enabling settlers to identify Palestinian landowners and purchase land directly.
Exposing ownership records could make it easier for settlers to forge claims over Palestinian land, a tactic widely documented and likely to accelerate land seizures across the occupied territory.
Rising settler violence
On Monday, in one of a number of similar recent incidents, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. The arson attack targeted the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the village of Tell, southwest of Nablus.
According to local Palestinian media, the fire engulfed the gates and exterior of the mosque before residents in the village were able to control it from spreading inside the building.
Footage circulating online shows the walls and grounds leading into the mosque charred. Racist slogans were also sprayed on the mosque's walls, including the words "revenge" and "price tag".
Settler gangs, operating with the protection of Israeli forces, attacked 45 mosques in 2025, according to the Palestinian religious endowments ministry.
Christian Palestinian communities have also dealt with rising Israeli violence, with over 50,000 residents living in areas facing growing threats from Israeli forces and settlers.
Settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem has been a feature of life for years.
Since the start of Israel's genocide in Gaza, the attacks have escalated, with official data issued by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission recording around 4,723 cases of settler violence in 2025.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops and settlers in the past two years, including 217 minors.
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