Arab and Islamic nations condemn Israeli Knesset's approval of motion on West Bank annexation
The non-binding vote in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, was backed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as well as some opposition lawmakers.
The move is "a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law and a flagrant violation of relevant Security Council resolutions," the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Nigeria, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation said in a joint statement.
Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, they said, adding that "this unilateral Israeli action has no legal effect and cannot alter the legal status of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly East Jerusalem, which remains an integral part of that territory."
They also emphasised that such Israeli measures "will only fuel the growing tension in the region, exacerbated by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
'They want to die': US ramps up efforts to fault Hamas for collapse of ceasefire talks
US President Donald Trump blamed Hamas on Friday for the collapse of Gaza ceasefire talks, even as he appeared to suggest that one of Hamas's sticking points is true: that Israel would resume attacks after it retrieved the remaining captives in Gaza. "Hamas didn't really want to make a deal," Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday. "I think they want to die, and it's very bad. It got to a point where you're going to have to finish the job." One of the main obstacles to the Gaza ceasefire talks has been Hamas's insistence that the release of captives in Gaza leads to a permanent end to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected that, insisting that Hamas be fully destroyed - even after the captives are released. Around 20 living Israelis are still being held in Gaza after two short-term ceasefires saw the release of more than 100. "Now we are down to the final hostages and they [Hamas] know what happens after you get the final hostages," Trump said. "Basically because of that they really didn't want to make a deal... They lose their shield. They lose their cover." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It's unclear whether Trump was trying to pressure the group to come back to the table and accept Israel's terms, or signalling he would support more widespread attacks on Gaza at a time when the enclave is descending into famine. "There has been a consistent effort to fault Hamas for the lack of progress in every other instance where talks have not produced an agreement," Michael Hanna, a Middle East expert at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told Middle East Eye. Israeli ground forces are already moving into the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, one of the few areas they deployed. The ceasefire talks collapsed on Thursday when US envoy Steve Witkoff said he was recalling American negotiators from Doha, Qatar. Qatari officials on Friday downplayed the recall, saying the "suspension of ceasefire negotiations to hold consultations before resuming talks again is a 'natural matter' in context of these complex negotiations". Qatar's foreign ministry added that progress had been made in the latest round of talks and that it, along with Egypt, was committed to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement. Trump's call to 'finish the job' This week, more than two dozen western countries, including traditional supporters of Israel like Poland, the UK and Italy accused Israel of "drip feeding" aid into Gaza and the "inhumane killing of civilians". Israel instituted a full blockade of Gaza in March. It allowed a trickle of aid into the enclave after establishing the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in May. US grilled over Gaza famine fears as it withdraws from ceasefire talks Read More » The US- and Israeli-backed group has been plagued by scandals and slammed by aid experts, including the UN. Starving Palestinians have been placed in cage-like corrals attempting to retrieve aid and have been shot at by US mercenaries guarding "distribution hubs" in southern Gaza. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to access food in Gaza since the GHF started operations, the UN said on Tuesday. Trump's call for Israel to "finish the job" is going to unnerve the US's Arab allies, two regional diplomats told MEE, who are concerned Israel will not stop the war until it forcibly displaces Palestinians from Gaza. Israeli officials have said they want to create a so-called "humanitarian city" on Gaza's border with Egypt. The proposal has drawn international criticism, with some describing it as resembling a concentration camp. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated publicly that implementing the "Trump plan" is one of his conditions for ending the war. Trump alarmed Arab states when he said earlier this year that the US would take over the Gaza Strip, forcibly displace its Palestinian inhabitants and turn the enclave into a "Riviera". "It's widely understood that there are no real strategic objectives to fulfil militarily unless the ultimate goal is displacement," Hanna, from the ICG, said. "In the meantime, it appears the US is willing to stand by as famine deepens throughout Gaza." 'Consistent effort to fault Hamas' "The US has protected Israel in these talks and is not a mediator, but more like a party to the discussions since US guarantees figure prominently in any agreement," Hanna added. The ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel have ebbed and flowed for weeks. The two sides reached an agreement on a three-phase deal in January. Israel tore up the deal in March before talks on a permanent end to the war were scheduled to take place in phase 2 and unilaterally resumed attacking the Gaza Strip. The US had made guarantees that it would work to ensure talks on a permanent end to the fighting take place. Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar also underwrote the ceasefire. 'The US is willing to stand by as famine deepens throughout Gaza' - Michael Hanna, International Crisis Group The Trump administration has clashed with Israel on several files - including striking an independent ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen and condemning Israeli strikes on Syria - but has generally given Israel full backing to wage war on Gaza. Trump's remarks echo those of his envoy Witkoff on Thursday, who said Hamas showed a "lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza". The US's decision to pull back from talks comes as the Gaza Strip descends deeper into hunger as a result of the blockade that Israel has imposed. Israel also suffered a diplomatic blow on Thursday when France announced it would recognise a Palestinian state. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote an unusually sarcastic social media post in response, saying Paris would give the French Riviera to the Palestinians and call it "Franc-en-stein". But the real story is in the Gaza Strip, where MEE correspondents have reported scenes of people collapsing on the street out of hunger as families endure days without food.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Israel's Knesset vote on the West Bank is an alarming development
To gauge how noxious Israeli politics has become, one need only consider what the past month has been like for Ayman Odeh, the Arab leader of a coalition of leftist parties. The Knesset, Israel's legislature, moved to impeach Mr Odeh for a tweet earlier in the year in which he said he was 'happy for the release of [Israeli] hostages and [Palestinian] prisoners' – the inclusion of both groups in the same sentence apparently too much for his detractors. Parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly – 73 to 14 – for Mr Odeh's expulsion, but a boycott of the session by Ultra-Orthodox parties over an unrelated issue prevented the 90-vote threshold required from being met. Then, last weekend, Mr Odeh was attacked on his way to an anti-war protest in central Israel. His assailants cracked the windshield of his car while he was inside, and chanted 'Death to Arabs'. Police, Mr Odeh says, stood by and did nothing. The silence from his fellow parliamentarians has been deafening. Yet it is little surprise, considering the anti-Arab mood in the Knesset appears to be at a fever pitch. On Wednesday, the legislature voted in favour of a non-binding motion to annex the West Bank, a Palestinian territory whose long-standing occupation by Israeli security forces is illegal under international law. The West Bank is a critical part of historic Palestine and any future Palestinian the vote was overwhelming, with 71 for to 13 against. The Knesset resolution called on the government 'to apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgement and administration' over large areas where illegal Jewish settlements are present, and noted the entire territory is 'an inseparable part of the land of Israel', to which Israel has a 'natural, historical and legal right'. The anti-Arab mood appears to be at a fever pitch Ten Arab and Islamic countries, along with the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, released a statement on Thursday roundly condemning the Knesset resolution. The statement, of which the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were signatories, called the resolution 'a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law', adding it will 'only fuel the growing tension in the region, exacerbated by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe'. The resolution has been viewed by Israeli politicians as a largely symbolic measure, as it does not carry the force of law. But it is deeply problematic, both as an antagonistic barb against the dignity and rights of Palestinians and as a barometer of public sentiment. While it is true that the statements and votes of Members of the Knesset belie more nuanced public opinion, the picture is still disturbing. A poll conducted by The Jerusalem Post in February found that 35 per cent of Israelis favour a 'Jewish-only state, from the river to the sea'. This would, in effect, include the prospect of annexation of the West Bank and the end of hopes for a Palestinian state. The pro-annexation movement is about much more than territorial claims. It inherently denies Palestinians the right to exist as a national community – it is no coincidence the most prominent supporters of annexing the West Bank apply their logic to Gaza, too. The fact that it has become an ideological staple in the Knesset makes its success as eventual national policy much likelier, and that ought to alarm everyone in the region, as well as Israel's allies in the West. A generalised acceptance of lawlessness and oppression among most of a country's politicians can have concrete consequences. Even if the annexation resolution is symbolic, the violent assault against Mr Odeh was very real.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Trump and Netanyahu turn back on Gaza ceasefire talks
The US and Israel appeared to abandon talks on a Gaza ceasefire on Friday, with both countries' leaders blaming Hamas for the failure to reach a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two allies were "considering alternative options" to bring hostages home and end Hamas's rule of Gaza. "Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal," he said. US President Donald Trump said Hamas did not want a deal, after negotiators spent weeks studying proposals for a 60-day truce and staggered release of hostages. "It was too bad. Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die," Mr Trump said. Asked about the next steps, he said: 'I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down.' Both Israel and US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday they were withdrawing negotiators from Qatar, which along with the US and Egypt had been mediating between the combatants. Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the talks had been constructive and accused Mr Witkoff of exerting pressure on Israel's behalf. "What we have presented - with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation - we believe could lead to a deal if the enemy had the will to reach one," he said. It wasn't clear what Israel's "alternative options" might be. Its top general Lt Gen Eyal Zamir recently said that if no deal were reached, troops would be instructed to "intensify and expand combat operations as much as possible". A deal had appeared close at times during the weeks of negotiations, as pressure ramps up on Israel to call off a siege of Gaza blamed for causing starvation in the strip. Hundreds of aid lorries were entering Gaza every day during a previous truce agreed in January. But the Israeli army resumed its offensive in Gaza in March and tightly controls entry in and out of the strip. Almost a third of people in Gaza are now "not eating for days", the UN's World Food Programme told AFP on Friday, as it warned the crisis has reached "new and astonishing levels of desperation". "Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," a statement from the organisation said. Gaza's Health Ministry said on Friday that hospitals had recorded nine more starvation deaths in the space of 24 hours, bringing the total to 113. Israel rejects the death toll as Hamas propaganda and says there is plenty of aid inside Gaza that UN aid workers not delivered. They in turn say Israel is putting obstacles in the way. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed global powers for ignoring the plight of Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza, calling the crisis a 'moral failure' that exposes a breakdown in global solidarity. 'I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community, the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity,' Mr Guterres said in a video address to Amnesty International's global assembly. Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that his country would recognize Palestine as a state. Arab countries praised Mr Macron's decision but it drew sharp criticism from the US and Israel.
