Displaced Palestinians gather for their fast-breaking Iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
Israel’s government, led by far-right ministers, has approved a series of measures this month, including launching a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and allowing Israelis to purchase land there directly.
Late on Monday, 18 countries, including regional heavyweights Egypt, Saudi Arabia and European powers France and Spain, slammed Israel over the recent moves.
They "are part of a clear trajectory that aims to change the reality on the ground and to advance unacceptable de facto annexation", the countries said.
"Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution."
Hamas hailed the condemnation as "a step in the right direction in confronting the occupation's expansionist plans, which flagrantly violate international law and relevant UN resolutions".
The group in a statement urged the countries involved "to impose deterrent sanctions and exert pressure on the fascist occupation government to halt its policies aimed at entrenching annexation, colonial settlement and forced displacement".
It said the Israeli measures were part of ongoing "aggression" against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
In addition to three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.
Israel's current government has accelerated settlement expansion, approving a record 54 settlements in 2025, according to activists.
Tensions in the West Bank have intensified in recent months amid what international observers describe as a marked acceleration in Israeli settlement policy. Israeli authorities have expanded the reclassification of Palestinian land as so-called “state land,” a legal mechanism used to facilitate settlement construction and infrastructure projects.
A focal point of recent controversy has been the advancement of the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem, which would link the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc to East Jerusalem.
Under international law, Israeli settlements in the territory occupied since 1967 are considered illegal. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) reaffirmed that settlements have “no legal validity” and constitute a “flagrant violation” of international law.
In 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion reaffirming that the Israeli prolonged occupation and settlement expansion violate international law.
Settlement expansion has also coincided with a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in parts of the West Bank, prompting repeated calls from the United Nations and European governments for accountability and restraint.
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