Turkey has condemned the latest decision by the Israeli government to expand settlement activity in the West Bank and annex new land in the occupied Palestinian territory, warning that such moves not only violate international law, but undermine ongoing peace efforts and threaten a two-state solution for the region.
“We strongly condemn the latest decision of the Israeli government, which aims to impose its authority over the occupied West Bank and expand settlement activities. This step, which seeks to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from their land and accelerate Israel’s unlawful annexation efforts, constitutes a clear violation of international law and is null and void. Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The expansionist policies intensified by the Netanyahu government in the occupied West Bank undermine ongoing peace efforts in the region and damage the prospects for a two state solution. We call on the international community to take a firm stance against Israel’s attempts to create faits accomplis on the ground” adds the official statement, which concludes that “Türkiye will continue to support efforts aimed at establishing an independent, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine on the basis of 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Palestinian Authority denounces Israel’s “de facto annexation“
For the first time since the occupation of the territory in 1967, the Israeli government approved a new proposal on Sunday to tighten control over the occupied West Bank and to register large parts of the territory as “state property“, a move that the Palestinian authorities have been quick to denounce as “a de facto annexation“.
According to Israeli media, the proposal was presented by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Defence Minister Israel Katz, and the initial goal would be the progressive expansion of Jewish settlements in 15% of the so-called Area C territory by 2030.
Under the Oslo II Agreement, signed in 1995, Area A is under full Palestinian control, Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, while Area C – which represents approximately 61% of the West Bank – remains under full Israeli control. The agreement also limits Palestinian Authority land registration to Areas A and B, and prohibits it in Area C.
The Palestinian Authority presidency rejected the Israeli cabinet’s decision as “a de-facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans… through illegal settlement activity”.
With this decision, the Israeli state de facto converts large parts of the West Bank into state land and significantly strengthens its grip on Palestinian territory by registering as its own plots of land that do not belong to other parties. The move follows a series of decisions approved last week by the Israeli security cabinet aimed at consolidating Israel’s expansion plans in the West Bank, by removing limits on the acquisition of Palestinian land for illegal settlements and new limits on the Palestinian Authority’s control over its territory, and comes just days before Trump is due to hold the first meeting of the so-called Board of Peace, a panel of world leaders focused on the implementation of the Hamas-Israel peace deal.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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