Joint statement warns annexation offer undermines two-state solution, calls for global action
A Palestinian man carries the body of his 5-month-old brother, Ahmed Al-Nader, who was reportedly killed the previous day along with other family members in Israeli shelling at a school-turned-shelter in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, ahead of his funeral. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan and seven other Muslim countries on Monday condemned what they described as Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza and its “illegal decisions and measures” aimed at imposing illegal sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory, according to a joint statement issued by the State Department.
The statement, issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, rejected Israeli actions to entrench settlement activity and enforce a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank. The ministers said these steps accelerated attempts at illegal annexation and displacement of the Palestinian people, and reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The ministers warned that continued expansionist Israeli policies and illegal measures in the occupied West Bank were fueling violence and conflict throughout the region.
They expressed “absolute rejection” of the actions, calling them a flagrant violation of international law that undermines the two-state solution and attacks the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent and sovereign state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital. The statement said such measures also undermine ongoing efforts for peace and regional stability.
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The foreign ministers said the Israeli measures were “null and void” and in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns actions aimed at changing the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
They also referred to the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion, which found Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as its continued presence there, to be illegal, and reaffirmed the need to end the occupation and the invalidity of the annexation of occupied Palestinian lands.
The ministers urged the international community to meet its legal and moral responsibilities and to force Israel to halt what they called a dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank, as well as to encourage statements by Israeli officials.
They emphasized that fulfilling the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights to self-determination and statehood, based on the two-state solution in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, remains the only path to a just and comprehensive peace that ensures security and stability in the region.
