Turkey condemned the resolution adopted by the Israeli parliament (Knesset) calling for the annexation of the West Bank and its full integration into the state of Israel: a non-binding vote pushed by members of Netanyahu‘s coalition government, which Ankara has not hesitated to call “illegitimate” and “provocative”.
The motion, reported by media such as Al-Jazeera, was passed by 71 votes to 13, and called on the government to “applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley” – the Israeli name for the Palestinian territories in the West Bank – in order to “strengthen the state of Israel, its security and prevent any questioning of the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland”.
The proposal was supported in the Knesset by members of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and while it has no direct legal implications, it is a more than symbolic step towards a real future annexation plan that was already raised last year by Israeli finance minister, the far-right politician Bezalel Smotrich, who he himself lives with 500,000 other Israeli settlers in an illegal settlement in the West Bank.
“A provocation aimed at undermining peace“
“The resolution voted on in the Israeli parliament, which demands that the occupied West Bank be annexed by Israel, is null and void under international law and has no validity. The West Bank is Palestinian territory and has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Any attempt by Israel to annex it is illegitimate and a provocative effort aimed at undermining peace initiatives,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Netanyahu government’s efforts to cling to power through violent policies and unlawful actions are leading to new crises every day and pose a serious threat to the international order and regional security. Binding and deterrent measures must be taken without delay against the aggression of genocidal Israel, and the legal and moral obligations of the international community must be fulfilled effectively” concluded the text released from Ankara.
Currently more than half a million Jewish settlers live in colonies and settlements – considered illegal by the United Nations – built on West Bank territory, which Palestinians want to be part of a future independent state along with Gaza. An Israeli annexation of the West Bank, even if not recognised by many countries, would be the final blow to the two-state solution, which most of the international community still sees as the most viable solution for peace in the Middle East.
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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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