ISTANBUL 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for a “firm” response from the US administration and the international community to recent Israeli measures aimed at tightening Israel’s control of the occupied West Bank.

“These dangerous violations require a firm response from the US administration and the international community because they disrupt President (Donald) Trump’s efforts, violate international law, and undermine Palestinian state institutions and the two-state solution,” Abbas told a joint press conference in Oslo with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, as cited by the official news agency Wafa.

He said his talks with the Norwegian premier took up efforts to solidify the Gaza ceasefire, and the need to move towards implementing the second phase of Trump's plan.

On Sunday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved measures aimed at expanding illegal settlement building and increasing Tel Aviv’s control of the occupied West Bank.

According to Israeli media, the decisions include repealing a law that barred the sale of land in the West Bank to illegal Israeli settlers, unsealing land ownership records, and shifting authority for building permits in a settlement bloc near Hebron from a Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.

Abbas urged "urgent and effective European and international action to halt annexation and settlement expansion, and to hold the Israeli government accountable for its ongoing violations, in order to preserve the credibility of the international system based on respect for international law and the UN Charter.”

He called on Norway, the EU, the US, and other global actors to press Israel "to end its financial war and cease its illegal deductions from Palestinian tax revenues, which limit the government's ability to fulfill its obligations to the Palestinian people."

Abbas affirmed the unity of the Palestinian territory and rejected any schemes to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and enabling the Palestinian government to exercise its responsibilities throughout all Palestinian territories.

He confirmed that municipal elections will be held in April, and parliamentary elections in November.

Israel has intensified operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since launching its military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. Palestinians view the escalation — including killings, arrests, displacement and settlement expansion — as a step toward formal annexation of the territory.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, 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.