After Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries condemn the move, UK, UN, and EU all urge Israel to cancel decision deepening control over Judea and Samaria and expanding oversight into areas administer by the Palestinian Authority.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
The United Nations, the European Union, and the British government are calling on Israel to walk back regulatory changes in Judea and Samaria which deepen Israeli control over the area and could make it easier to expand Israeli towns.
On Sunday, the security cabinet voted in favor of a measure proposed by Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) which imposes greater Israeli oversight in Areas A and B, which are under Palestinian Authority civil administration.
The changes remove long-standing bureaucratic restrictions on Israeli settlement activity, including lifting the ban on Israeli Jews purchasing privately owned Arab land, and introduce greater transparency and regularization in the land-ownership registry.
The cabinet also streamlined approval processes for settlement construction, reducing procedural hurdles that had previously delayed or blocked development.
The move drew condemnations from across the Arab and Muslim world, with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates issuing a joint statement objecting to the decision.
On Monday, European Union spokesman Anouar El Anouni registered Brussels’ protest, calling the decision “another step in the wrong direction,” while reiterating the EU position that any attempts by Israel at annexation – even de facto – would be “illegal under international law.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement on Monday denouncing Israel’s decision as “unlawful” and “destabilizing,” and urged Jerusalem to reverse the move.
“The Secretary-General calls on Israel to reverse these measures and on all parties to preserve the only path to lasting peace, a negotiated two-State solution, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and international law.”
That same day, Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office chastised Israel in a statement criticizing the security cabinet’s decision.
“The UK strongly condemns the Israeli Security Cabinet’s decision yesterday to expand Israeli control over the West Bank.”
“The UK has consistently maintained that unilateral actions to alter the geographic or demographic makeup of Palestine are unacceptable and incompatible with international law.”
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