Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Feb 11: Palestine’s envoy to the United Nations has called on the international community to stop Israel’s recent moves to consolidate control over the occupied West Bank, describing the measures as “the annexation of the land of the Palestinian people.”
Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, flanked by representatives of Arab and Muslim-majority nations, said Palestinians are “mobilising” diplomatically against what he termed Israel’s “illegal” actions. “We hope and expect that the powerful partners … [will] stop Israel in its tracks from getting away with this very violation of international law and the will of the entire community of nations,” he said.
The Israeli security cabinet on Sunday approved measures that make it easier for Israelis to seize Palestinian land, directly purchase property in the West Bank, and expand military control. Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967, with settlements widely considered illegal under international law, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that Israeli settlements in these areas violate international law.
Israeli officials, including Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen, have suggested these steps amount to “de facto sovereignty” over the West Bank, effectively preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. Despite global condemnation, Israel has faced no significant international consequences for its actions.
Mansour emphasised that Palestine has growing international support. “It has Arab depth, Islamic depth, and we have many other friends also who will step up to the plate to declare their position as it relates to this specific issue,” he said.
Turkiye’s UN ambassador, Ahmet Yildiz, read a statement on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), condemning Israel’s measures. “The OIC group condemns in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank,” he said, adding that such expansionist policies “only serve to fuel violence and conflict in the region.”
Israel’s moves to tighten control over the West Bank come days ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States, scheduled for Wednesday. US President Donald Trump, a strong supporter of Israel, has previously opposed the annexation of the occupied West Bank.