Türkiye condemns Israel's West Bank land move as illegal under international law

Ankara has condemned an Israeli plan to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as state property, a move widely criticised internationally and described by the UN and the International Court of Justice as inconsistent with international law governing occupied territories.

In a Sunday statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called the plan “null and void” under international law, arguing that it was aimed at expelling Palestinians from their land and expediting what it described as Israel’s “unlawful annexation efforts” in the West Bank.

The ministry said the measure was meant to cement Israeli control over territory that is home to roughly three million Palestinians and expand Israeli settlement activity in the region.

Israel’s cabinet voted on Sunday to begin implementing the measure.

According to Israeli cabinet officials, the move will make it easier for Jewish settlers to purchase Palestinian land in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East War. Officials also said the measure would give Israel’s military expanded authority in parts of the territory that are nominally administered by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

'No sovereignty'

Several Arab and Muslim-majority states, including Türkiye and Egypt, issued a joint statement last week denouncing the plan as a breach of international law that would undermine prospects for a Palestinian state and further destabilise the region.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry reiterated that Israel “has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories” and reaffirmed Türkiye’s support for the establishment of an “independent, sovereign and contiguous” Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions - including Resolution 242, adopted after the 1967 war - the acquisition of territory by war is deemed inadmissible and Israel is called upon to withdraw from territories occupied during the conflict.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion concluding that Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful under international law and calling for the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

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