RIYADH — Saudi Arabia and seven other Muslim-majority countries strongly condemned new Israeli steps on Monday to expand control over the West Bank, including land sales to Jewish settlers and shifts in building permit authority from Palestinian municipalities.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the measures on February 8, framing them as efforts to “deepen our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and bury the idea of a Palestinian state.” Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey decried the moves as illegal attempts to entrench settlements, impose sovereignty, and displace Palestinians.
The joint statement highlighted the transfer of settlement permit powers in cities like Hebron from the Palestinian Authority to Israel, accelerating annexation. Ramallah’s Palestinian presidency echoed the criticism, calling it a deepening bid to annex the territory where over 500,000 Israelis reside in internationally illegal settlements alongside three million Palestinians. The uproar precedes Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s U.S. visit to meet President Donald Trump, who maintains opposition to West Bank annexation.