Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s decision to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as “state lands,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry noted that this move is part of plans designed to impose a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank. Thus, these measures “undermine the ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia stressed that “Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory,” reaffirming the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of these illegal measures.
It stated that these measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law, undermine the two-state solution, and represent an assault on the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent sovereign state along the borders of the 4th of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On Sunday, the Israeli government approved measures to begin the process of registering large swaths of territory in the occupied West Bank as state land, if Palestinians cannot prove ownership.
The new measure targets Area C, which comprises 60% of the West Bank, reported CNN. Data from the human rights organization B’Tselem indicates this region is home to between 180,000 and 300,000 Palestinians, alongside at least 325,500 Israeli settlers.
The Palestinian Presidency slammed the Israeli decision as “de facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory,” warning that this move aims to “entrench the occupation through illegal settlement activity.”
The move also faced strong condemnation from Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Qatar.
Last week, the Israeli cabinet approved a measure to deepen Israel’s administrative and legal authority over the West Bank, sparking condemnation from the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, who said that these “unlawful” actions erode the prospect for the two-state solution.
