RIYADH: Eight Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, have strongly criticised recent Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank and urged the international community to press Israel to halt what they described as dangerous measures.
In a joint statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Türkiye rejected any Israeli claim of sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory.
The ministers condemned measures taken by Israel to impose administrative and legal control in the West Bank, expand settlements and alter the existing status of the territory.
According to the statement, the countries said Israel has no sovereign authority over the occupied Palestinian areas and warned that the measures could accelerate de facto annexation and displacement of Palestinians.
The ministers said the actions violate international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, and risk further instability and violence in the region.
They called on the international community to fulfil its legal and moral responsibilities and take steps to ensure Israel halts actions that undermine prospects for peace.
The joint statement reaffirmed support for a two-state solution based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, describing it as the only viable path to a just and lasting settlement.
