ISTANBUL

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday denounced two bills that were approved in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in a preliminary reading on the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi reaffirmed that such steps by Israel represent “a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions and undermine the international community's efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.”

“Such settlement practices are a blatant encroachment on the historical rights of the Palestinian people,” he added.

Albudaiwi urged the international community to assume its legal responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to halt these escalating measures.

On Wednesday, the Knesset passed the two draft bills in a preliminary vote seeking to annex the West Bank and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc in occupied East Jerusalem.

Both bills must still pass three additional readings before becoming law.

Israeli attacks have escalated across the West Bank since October 2023, killing more than 1,056 Palestinians, injuring 10,300, and detaining over 20,000 others, according to Palestinian sources.

In a landmark opinion last July, 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.