Arab states condemn Israel’s move to expand powers in occupied West Bank

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates led regional condemnation on Monday of Israel’s decision to ease settlement expansion and broaden its authority across the occupied West Bank, a move critics say amounts to de facto annexation.

Israel’s security cabinet approved measures on Sunday that will make it easier for Jewish settlers to purchase land in the West Bank and grant Israeli authorities greater powers in areas nominally under Palestinian control, Reuters reported citing two senior Israeli ministers.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist figure in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, said the decisions would “continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state.”

In a joint statement, foreign ministers from several Middle Eastern and Muslim-majority countries — including Egypt and Turkey — denounced the measures as illegal under international law and warned they would undermine prospects for a two-state solution and regional stability.

Jordan, Egypt, the UAE and Turkey all maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, while Saudi Arabia has said it will not normalise relations without the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Most countries view the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, as the core of a future Palestinian state.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and Smotrich said the cabinet had repealed a pre-1967 Jordanian-era law that kept land registries confidential and scrapped a permit requirement for land purchases, steps they said would simplify transactions for Jewish buyers.

Settlement watchdog Peace Now said the move violated international law and marked a significant step toward annexation. “This treats the West Bank as normal Israeli territory rather than occupied land,” said Hagit Ofran of the group.

The cabinet also expanded Israeli enforcement powers over water use, archaeological sites and environmental issues into Areas A and B of the West Bank — zones that, under the 1993 Oslo accords, are under Palestinian or joint control. Peace Now said the changes could pave the way for wider demolitions of Palestinian property and further restrictions on Palestinian development.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “grave concern,” warning the measures were eroding the viability of a two-state solution, his spokesperson said.

In Hebron, Palestinians said the decisions would accelerate settlement growth and home demolitions. “It becomes easier to confiscate land, expand settlements and demolish Palestinian homes,” said Issa Amr of the group Youth Against Settlements.