UN calls on Israel to reverse unlawful West Bank actions

• Pakistan asks international community to reject provocative decision allowing takeover of occupied land as state property
• EU calls annexation illegal, Arab nations denounce ‘threat to peace efforts’
• Israel imposes restrictions, deploys police around Al-Aqsa

JERUSALEM / ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan denounced the latest Israeli move to convert areas of the West Bank into “state property”, the UN chief called upon Tel Aviv to reverse its new, “unlawful” policy allowing registration of the occupied land in the occupied territory as state property.

Israel’s foreign ministry claimed the measure, approved late on Sunday, would enable “transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes” but the move drew strong condemnations from across the globe for its violation of international law.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this new measure was destabilising and unlawful, according to a statement by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Pakistan also denounced the step as a clear violation of international law as well as relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. Islamabad urged the international community to reject the decision, said a statement issued by the For­eign Office spokesperson. It added that the occupying power continued to disregard international law and its provocative actions undermined the prospects for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region.

“Pakistan calls on the international community to take concrete measures to end Israeli impunity, and ensure respect for international law,” the spokesperson added.

‘Undermine peace efforts’

Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan also criticised the move as illegal. The measure is “aimed at impo­sing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank” that would undermine peace efforts in the region, Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the actions “undermine efforts to restore calm and thr­e­aten to exacerbate the conflict,” according to a statement released by the royal court.

The European Union called on Israel to reverse the move. “This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control,” EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. “We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law.”

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 NGO’s co-director, told AFP that the move would attribute new resources for land registration.

“There was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to deal with it,” Mizrachi said, adding that the grey area over Area C land ownership was 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, believing the move would 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.

The latest Israeli initiatives come in the wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, 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, he has held off from dire­ctly criticising the new 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 Israel has occupied since 1967.

Al-Aqsa restrictions

Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramazan, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.

Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Islam’s third-holiest site. Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed “day and night” across the compound, adding that thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers.

Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said it had been informed that permits would again be restricted to men over 55.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2026

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