Arab states condemn Likud call for annexation of occupied West Bank
A number of Arab countries have strongly condemned a push by lawmakers from Netanyahu’s Likud party calling on the PM to swiftly annexe the occupied West Bank.
- Egypt said it “expresses its categorical rejection of these statements, which violate international law and aim to entrench the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and undermine the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state …”.
- Qatar said it “considers these remarks an extension of the occupation’s settlement, colonial, and racist policies, and a blatant violation of international law and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334”.
- The Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia expressed “condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by an official from the Israeli occupation authorities calling for the imposition of sovereignty over the West Bank in Palestine …”.
- Kuwait‘s Foreign Ministry expressed the country’s “condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by several representatives of the Israeli occupation authorities … in a grave violation of international legitimacy resolutions”.
- Jordan‘s Foreign Minister “emphasised the necessity of halting the illegal and unlawful Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank, which threaten to ignite the situation and increase tensions”.
Almost 400,000 Palestinians displaced by Israeli raids in occupied West Bank
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, says 400,000 Palestinians remain displaced in the occupied West Bank amid large-scale Israeli military operations that have forced people from their homes and placed widespread restrictions on Palestinian residents.
“After five months, the military operation continues,” Simona Onidi, MSF project coordinator in the Palestinian cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, said in a statement.
“The [refugee] camps remain sealed off, with Israeli soldiers actively preventing anyone from entering. Families are still in limbo, and we’re worried that humanitarian needs will keep escalating.”
The statement added that Palestinian communities impacted by the raids live in a state of constant apprehension and face challenges accessing food, water and health services.
