Pakistan, other Muslim states warn against West Bank annexation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday joined other Muslim countries as well as the Arab League and OIC to condemn the passage of two draft laws “aiming to impose a so-called “Israeli sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank and illegal colonial settlements.

In a joint statement, they warned “against the continuation of Israel’s unilateral and illegal policies and practices”, calling on “the international community to shoulder its legal and moral responsibilities and to compel Israel to cease its dangerous escalation and unlawful measures” while stressing the need for implementing the two-state solution.

Those who signed the statement include Pakistan, Jordan, Indonesia, Turkiye, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Gambia, the State of Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Separately, President Donald Trump said Israel would lose its crucial backing from the United States if it annexes the occupied West Bank.

Read more: Trump says US to pull support if Israel annexes West Bank

“It won’t happen. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And you can’t do that now. We’ve had great Arab support,” Trump said when asked what the consequences would be for Israel if it did so.

He added, “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION, CHARACTER, AND STATUS

In the joint statement, the Muslim states condemned “in the strongest terms the approval of Israeli Knesset of two draft laws aiming to impose a so called “Israeli sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank, and on Israeli illegal colonial settlements as a blatant violation of international law”, and of UN Security Council resolutions.

It especially mentions the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 “which condemns all Israeli measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967.

At the same time, the statement talked about “the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice [ICJ], which affirmed the illegality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and the invalidity of settlement construction and annexation measures in the occupied West Bank”.

On the other hand, they welcomed the recent advisory opinion of the ICJ on “Israel’s obligations in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In the advisory opinion, “the ICJ reaffirmed Israel’s obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure that the population of the OPT [occupied Palestinian Territory], including Gaza, has the essential supplies of daily life, and to agree to and facilitate by all means at its disposal relief schemes on behalf of the population”.