The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League on Monday condemned what they described as “illegal” Israeli steps to designate large areas of the occupied West Bank as state property, warning that the measure threatens prospects for peace and urging swift international intervention.
In a post on U.S. social media company X, the OIC warned of "a series of illegal steps” taken by Israeli authorities, most recently the start of procedures to designate land in the occupied West Bank as "state property.”
The organization said the measures aim to deepen control, strengthen settlement and annexation, alter the legal, political and demographic status of the occupied Palestinian territory, and undermine the two-state solution.
The OIC strongly rejected the Israeli decision, saying it threatens the existence of the Palestinian people and violates their legitimate rights. These rights include the right to self-determination and to establish an independent sovereign state within the borders that existed before the 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The measures are considered "null and void” under international law and relevant U.N. resolutions, including U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, the organization said.
The OIC renewed its call on the international community, particularly the Security Council, to intervene immediately to compel Israel, the occupying power, to cease what it called illegal actions and to ensure accountability for crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, their territory and holy sites.
The Arab League also denounced the Israeli move as a "dangerous escalation” and a "flagrant violation of international law and relevant legitimacy resolutions.”
"This decision is a unilateral and invalid measure aimed at imposing new realities on the ground and effectively constitutes a preliminary step towards the annexation of occupied Palestinian territory,” it added in a statement.
The pan-Arab body warned that the Israeli measures undermine the prospects for achieving a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution.
"All measures aimed at altering the legal and historical status of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, lack any legal validity, will not produce any legal effects, and remain null and void under international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
It warned that the Israeli escalating policies "would exacerbate tensions and threaten security and stability in the region,” calling for urgent action from the international community, especially the U.N. Security Council, to pressure Israel "to halt all unilateral actions that violate international law.
On Sunday, the Israeli government approved a proposal to register Palestinian land in the West Bank as "state property,” for the first time since Israel occupied the territory in 1967.
According to Israeli Channel 7, the measure includes opening previously frozen land registration procedures, canceling old Jordanian legislation, and disclosing land records that had remained confidential for decades.
Palestinians view the measures as a prelude to the formal annexation of the West Bank and a step toward the de facto annexation of large parts of the territory, moves they say would undermine the two-state solution framework endorsed by the U.N.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
