Pakistan rejects Israel’s illegal measures to steal Palestinian land

Pakistan has strongly condemned the latest attempt by the Israeli occupying forces to convert areas of the Occupied West Bank into so-called state property, and to expand illegal settlement activities, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Monday, such steps are in clear violation of international law as well as relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and must be rejected by the international community.

The occupying power’s continued disregard for the international law and its provocative actions undermine the prospects for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region, said the statement and added, Pakistan calls on the international community to take concrete measures to end Israeli impunity, and ensure respect for international law.

Pakistan reaffirms full support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and for the establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, the statement concluded.

Israeli move draws outrage

Israel's government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property", drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who said it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory.

Israel's foreign ministry said the measure, approved late Sunday, would enable "transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes" and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

But Egypt, Qatar and Jordan criticised the move as illegal under international law.

In a statement, the Egyptian government called it a "dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories".

Qatar's foreign ministry condemned the "decision to convert West Bank lands into so-called 'state property'," saying it would "deprive the Palestinian people of their rights".

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the "de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state".

Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called the measure a "mega land grab".

Jonathan Mizrachi, the Israeli NGO's co-director, told AFP on Monday that the measure would attribute new resources for land registration in the occupied West Bank.

The process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60 percent of West Bank territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control.

"There was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to deal with it," he said, adding that the existing ambiguity over Area C land ownership is likely to be used against Palestinians.

"A lot of land that Palestinians consider theirs, they will find out it's not theirs under this new registration process," he said, adding the move will further the Israeli right's annexation agenda.

- Changing demography -
Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel's religious right want to take over the land.

Last week, Israel's security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords, in place since the 1990s.

Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority's control.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

The latest Israeli initiatives come amid a wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the territory, according to rights groups.

"We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement.

US President Donald Trump has opposed Israel's annexation of the West Bank, saying stability in the territory helps keep Israel secure.

However, Trump has held off from directly criticising the latest Israeli measures, despite the international outrage.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.

Around three million Palestinians live in the territory, which Israeli has occupied since 1967.

Reporter Anwer Abbas/AFP