Arab and Muslim states condemn Israeli West Bank land plan
An Israeli flag flutters as a Jewish settler works on the construction of a house in the unauthorised Jewish settler outpost of Achiya, south of the West Bank city of Nablus January 5, 2016. Steeped in messianic Jewish mysticism and rebelling against what they see as adulterated modern Zionism, the "Hilltop Youth," a new generation of ultra-religious settlers whose resentment of the secular Israeli state rivals their hostility toward Arabs, number in the hundreds, by most accounts. But they pose a deep-rooted challenge even for the nationalist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it struggles to stanch Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed in the absence of peace negotiations. Picture taken January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
A group of Arab and Muslim countries has condemned Israel’s decision to move forward with designating parts of the occupied West Bank as “state land”, warning the step could accelerate settlement expansion and undermine prospects for a Palestinian state, according to international statements issued on February 17, 2026, according to The National.
The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey said Israel’s approval of land registration procedures in the West Bank marked a serious escalation. The Israeli government on February 9 authorised plans allowing land settlement and registration across extensive areas of the territory for the first time in decades.
In a joint statement, the countries’ foreign ministers said the measure was intended to facilitate settlement activity and consolidate Israeli control over occupied land. They argued that the policy could enable large-scale confiscation by allowing authorities to classify land as state property if Palestinian ownership cannot be formally proven under Israeli legal criteria.
The ministers said the decision would further entrench Israeli sovereignty claims over the occupied Palestinian territories and damage the viability of a negotiated two-state solution. They described the move as illegal under international law and harmful to Palestinian rights.
Palestinian officials warned the policy could mark the beginning of de facto annexation measures in the West Bank. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967, and most of the international community considers settlements built there to be unlawful.
Israeli anti-settlement organisation Peace Now said the land registration framework could affect a substantial portion of the West Bank. The group said similar procedures previously applied in East Jerusalem had resulted in very limited recognition of Palestinian land ownership.
Land settlement processes in the West Bank were halted under Israeli military orders following the 1967 occupation. The new policy clears the way for those procedures to resume, a shift critics say could significantly alter land status across the territory.
The move comes amid broader steps by Israel’s government to expand settlement activity and facilitate property acquisition by Israeli citizens in the West Bank. The decision has drawn regional criticism, with the United Arab Emirates convening an emergency Arab League meeting in Cairo to coordinate a response.
International bodies including the United Nations Security Council have repeatedly called on Israel to halt settlement expansion. Recent UN assessments indicate settlement growth and settler violence in the West Bank have risen sharply in the past year.
The National, Maghrebi.com
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