Israel’s neighbors condemn the West Bank action which is considered a “start” for the annexation of Palestinian territory.

Jerusalem – The Israeli government approved the land registration process in living in the West Bank as “state property,” drawing criticism from Arab nations and critics who say it will accelerate the annexation of Palestinian territory.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the move, approved late Sunday, would “clear and comprehensively clarify rights to settle legal disputes” and was needed after illegal land registrations in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

But Egypt, Qatar and Jordan have condemned this as illegal under international law.

Arab nations, the Palestinians called the move the “true beginning” of unification

In a statement, the Egyptian government called it a “dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over Palestinian territories.”

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “the decision to turn West Bank lands into so-called ‘state property’,” saying it would “deprive the Palestinian people of their rights.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Jordan said in a statement that the country “strongly condemns the actions of the Israeli government towards the seizure of Palestinian land, recently the illegal decision of the Israeli government to turn land in the West Bank into what is called ‘state property.’ This is a clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law, undermines the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and prevents the establishment of their independent state.”

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent “the real start of the process of taking over and undermining the foundations of the Palestinian state.”

Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called the measure “a massive land grab.”

The process will take place only in Area C, which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank and is under Israeli security and control.

“There was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to address it,” Peace Now director Jonathan Mizrachi told AFP on Monday, adding that the ambiguity surrounding land ownership in Area C could be used against the Palestinians.

“A lot of land that the Palestinian people take as their own, will find out that it is not theirs under this new registration system,” he said, adding that this move will further Israel’s dispossession process.

The European Union also issued a statement condemning Monday’s move as “a new escalation after recent moves aimed at extending Israeli control” over Palestinian territory.

“We reiterate that drug trafficking is illegal under international law,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said in a statement. “We ask Israel to reverse this decision.”

There was no immediate reaction from Israeli officials to the condemnation of the country’s neighbors and the EU.

“Quick steps to permanently change the demography” of the West Bank

Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by right-wing ministers to tighten control over West Bank areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords, which have been in place since the 1990s.

Those measures, which have also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land outright and allowing Israeli authorities to control certain religious sites in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

These measures issued a joint statement in eight Muslim-majority countries, including the allies of the US, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, condemning “in the strongest terms Israel’s illegal decisions and measures aimed at enforcing the illegal sovereignty of Israel, concentrating the work of settlement, and imposing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby eliminating the West Bank, thus eliminating the Palestinian people.”

Palestinians see the West Bank as the foundation of any future Palestinian state, but many in Israel’s religious right want to take over the land.

About three million Palestinians live in the area, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Israel’s latest efforts come amid a broader context of expansion attacks by Israeli settlers against the Palestinians locally, according to rights groups.

“We are seeing immediate steps to change the Palestinian state forever, dispossess its people and force them to leave,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement.

Outside of east Jerusalem which is annexed to Israel, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and areas outside the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Israel has done a lot military and police operations in the West Bank in recent years, accusing Hamas and other terrorist groups of operating in the area and using it as a base. from the point of attack in Israel.

The Trump administration has remained silent after repeatedly denying coverage

President Trump opposed Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, saying that stability in the area helps keep Israel safe, but he did not directly criticize Israel’s recent actions, despite international outrage.

“I will not allow Israel to occupy the West Bank,” Mr. Trump told reporters frankly September 2025. “Enough is enough [Israeli settlement expansion]. Time to stop now.”

Vice President JD Vance criticized Thursday a Israeli parliament vote to advance a bill regarding the proposed annexation of the West Bank, calling it “political nonsense.”

“I take it personally,” Vance said at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport as he left the country after his visit. “The West Bank will not be taken by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be taken by Israel. That will continue to be our policy. And if people want to take symbolic votes, they can do that, but we certainly weren’t happy about it.”

Many right-wing members of the Israeli government they expressed hope since Mr. Trump won his second term in office, however, that his pro-Israel stance may make the promotion a reality.

Netanyahu’s Likud party is part of a coalition government – built to keep him in power –
and right-wing nationalist groups including the Religious Zionist Party. Netanyahu is committed to pursuing the inclusion of the West Bank in the Likud coalition agreement with the Religious Zionist Party.

“The people of Israel have a natural right to the Land of Israel,” the agreement says. “Due to the belief in the aforementioned right, the Prime Minister will take the lead in formulating and promoting policy within the framework in which sovereignty will be exercised in the West Bank, while choosing the time and taking into account all the interests of the Israeli state and the international community.”

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister and a member of the Religious Zionist Party, said in 2024 he believed Israel could work with the incoming Trump administration to promote the annexation of the West Bank.