Pakistan condemns Israel’s move to convert West Bank areas into ‘state property’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned Israel’s latest move to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property”, calling on the international community to reject its actions, according to a statement by the Foreign Office (FO).
An Arab TV channel reported on Sunday that the Israeli government had approved the proposal to claim large areas of the occupied territory as property of the state if Palestinians could not prove ownership, a move which prompted outcry from Palestinian group Hamas, the Palestinian presidency, and political analysts.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the latest attempt by the Israeli occupying power to convert areas of the Occupied West Bank into so-called state property, and to expand illegal settlement activities,” the statement said.
It pointed out that these steps clearly violated international law and relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, stressing that they “must be rejected” by the international community.
“The occupying power’s continued disregard for international law and its provocative actions undermine the prospects for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region,” it added.
“Pakistan calls on the international community to take concrete measures to end Israeli impunity, and ensure respect for international law,” the statement said.
It once again reaffirmed full support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and for the establishment of an “independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.
Most Palestinian land is not formally registered because it is a long, complicated process that Israel stopped in 1967. Registration of land establishes permanent ownership. International law states an occupying power cannot confiscate land in occupied territories.
Palestinian group Hamas had condemned the decision on Sunday, calling it an attempt “to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank by registering them as so-called ‘state lands’”.
However, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz described the move as an “essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for the state of Israel in the area”, according to the Jerusalem Post. Staff Report
