‘Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory,’ Egypt and other Muslim countries said.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Parliament’s (Knesset) approved two draft laws aimed at imposing “Israeli sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank and on Israeli illegal colonial settlements.

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The next day, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Gambia, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned such decision in the strongest terms.

Those draft laws, along with Israel’s illegal settlements, represent “a flagrant violation of international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions,” particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli measures intended to alter the geographic composition of Palestinian territories.

“Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory,” the Muslim countries, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation said in a joint statement.

They also welcomed the advisory opinion issued Wednesday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s obligations regarding the occupied territories, in which the court reaffirmed that Israel must ensure that the Palestinian population “has access to essential supplies for daily life.”

The court stated that Israel must accept and facilitate “by all means at its disposal” relief programs on behalf of the population, including through the United Nations and its agencies such as the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The ICJ also reaffirmed Israel’s obligation to respect “the prohibition on the use of starvation,” recalling the Israeli blockade on aid to the Gaza Strip, the statement emphasized.

In light of this situation, the Muslim countries, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation warned against “the continuation of Israel’s unilateral and illegal policies and practices,” while urging the international community to assume its “legal and moral responsibilities.”

For this reason, they also called for compelling Israel “to end its dangerous escalation and illegal measures in the occupied Palestinian territory and to uphold the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state,” which they described as “the only path to achieving a just and comprehensive peace” in the Middle East.

The West Bank is a landlocked territory located in the Middle East, west of the Jordan River and east of Israel. It covers roughly 2,200 square miles (about 5,700 square kilometers) and is home to around 3 million Palestinians.

This occupied territory includes major cities such as Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, and Bethlehem, as well as East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state.

The area was captured by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and has since remained under Israeli military occupation, although parts of it are administered by the Palestinian Authority under limited self-rule agreements.

Internationally, the West Bank is recognized as occupied Palestinian territory, and Israeli settlements built there are considered illegal under international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention. However, Israel disputes this interpretation and continues to expand settlements, deepening tensions with Palestinians and drawing widespread condemnation from the international community.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: EFE – OIC

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