RIYADH, Feb 9: Saudi Arabia and seven other Muslim-majority countries on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel approved the measures, announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, on Sunday. They include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land, a joint statement from the ministers said.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey "condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty", a Saudi statement said.
They are an attempt at "entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people", the foreign ministry statement added.
The Israeli measures also envisage transferring authority over building permits for settlements in parts of Palestinian cities, including Hebron, from the Palestinian Authority's municipalities to Israel.
Smotrich said the move was aimed at "deepening our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state".
The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah, which exercises limited control over some discontiguous areas of the West Bank, also condemned the decision, saying it was aimed at "deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank".
The announcement comes days ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States, where he is due to meet President Donald Trump, who has upheld US opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
Around three million Palestinians live in the territory. "AFP
