ISTANBUL

Arab countries denounced official Israeli calls on Wednesday for the annexation of the occupied West Bank as a violation of international law.

Fourteen Israeli ministers and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana signed a joint letter on Wednesday demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately annex the occupied territory.

Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin also called for the West Bank annexation, saying “the time for sovereignty has come.”

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli calls as “a direct threat to regional stability.”

The Ramallah-based authority said the calls to annex the West Bank “violate international law and the principles of international legitimacy, all of which affirm the need to end the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned “in the strongest terms” what it called “dangerous statements” made by Israeli government members.

In a post on X, the Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced “the Israeli occupation official’s call to impose sovereignty over the West Bank territories in Palestine,” labeling it a breach of international resolutions.

The ministry reaffirmed the kingdom’s rejection of “any attempts to expand settlements on Palestinian land” and stressed the importance of “holding Israeli authorities accountable to international decisions.”

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also categorically rejected the Israeli calls for annexing the West Bank, calling them “a clear violation of international law aimed at entrenching the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.”

Cairo reaffirmed its opposition to any unilateral measures that undermine efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East War and has rejected efforts to establish a Palestinian state based on the two-state solution.

Israel has accelerated its settlement activities in the occupied territory since the start of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 988 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers since October 2023.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last July declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.