UAE condemns Israeli vote to annex West Bank in joint statement

The UAE, alongside 11 other countries and organisations, has condemned the Israeli Knesset’s vote to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

A joint statement issued by the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Nigeria, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said the resolution, which passed 71-13 in Israel's parliament, is a violation of several UN Security Council resolutions and considered invalid.

The signatories said that Israel has “no sovereignty” over the occupied Palestinian territory and the vote has no legal effect on the status of the territory, adding such Israeli actions only fuel the growing tension in the region, which has been exacerbated by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe.

"Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory and affirm that this unilateral Israeli action has no legal effect and cannot change the legal status of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly East Jerusalem, which remains an integral part of that territory," the statement said. 

The parties also called on the international community to "assume their legal and moral responsibilities" and take urgent action to halt "illegal Israeli policies aimed at imposing a fait accompli by force."

Lawmakers of the Israeli parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of a non-binding motion put forth by far-right ministers to annex the West Bank.

“The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel,” declared Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana following the vote. 

“These unilateral Israeli actions blatantly violate international law and the ongoing international consensus regarding the status of the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank,”Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said on social media platform X.

The symbolic vote comes a year after a similar one was approved by the Israeli legislative body that declared opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.