The Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Qatar and the European Union denounced on Sunday and Monday the adoption by the Israeli government of new land measures strengthening its control over the occupied West Bank. Cette dernière décision en date fait craindre une annexion du territoire palestinien par l'État hébreu.
Published on: 02/16/2026 - 09:41 Modified on: 02/16/2026 - 15:37
Les condamnations se multiplient dans le monde arabe et au-delà. The Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Qatar, but also Jordan and the European Union denounced, on Sunday February 15 and Monday February 16, the adoption by Israel of new measures aimed at strengthening its control of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Jewish state approved new measures on Sunday aimed at facilitating the purchase of land by Israeli settlers. Ministers voted in favor of launching a land registration process, a first in the occupied West Bank since 1967, according to Israeli Army Radio.
See also Occupied West Bank: Israel extends its control, what consequences?
The Palestinian Authority's foreign minister said on He deemed the new measures “legally invalid” and amounting to the “de facto start of an annexation process”.
The European Union on Monday urged Israel to abandon its new land measures in the West Bank, criticizing a "new escalation" in the region.
The Israeli decision "constitutes a new escalation. (...) We recall that the annexation (of the West Bank) is illegal under international law. We call on Israel to reverse this decision", reacted a spokesperson for the European Commission, Anouar El Anouni.
A project that aims to “deprive the Palestinian people of their rights”
For the King of Jordan, Israeli measures in the West Bank “threaten to aggravate the conflict”.
Egypt "condemns in the strongest terms" these announcements which, according to it, represent "a dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control" over the West Bank and a violation of international agreements, the Egyptian government indicated on X.
See alsoIsrael wants to extend its control in the West Bank, rekindling fears of annexation
On the same social network, Qatar's diplomacy denounced measures which amount to "an extension of [Israel's] plans to deprive the Palestinian people of their rights".
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A week ago, Israel had already attracted widespread condemnation by approving a series of measures facilitating the purchase of land for Israeli settlers, including the repeal of a decades-old law which prohibited Jews from directly purchasing land in the occupied West Bank.
They also allow Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites, even when they are located in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Read alsoOccupied West Bank: the UN denounces “apartheid” exercised by Israel against the Palestinians
Israeli colonization continues in the West Bank occupied since 1967
The Israeli Foreign Minister defended on X the legality of the measures approved on Sunday, which according to him aim to "bring order to land registration procedures" and "resolve legal disputes".
He justified them by accusing the Palestinian Authority of itself carrying out "illegal land registration procedures" in areas supposed to be under Israeli control under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s.
Also read: France and thirteen other countries call on Israel to stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank
Colonization has continued under all Israeli governments of the left and right since 1967, and has significantly intensified under the current executive, particularly since the start of the war in Gaza triggered on October 7, 2023 by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israel.
Aside from East Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel, more than 500,000 Israelis live today in the occupied West Bank in settlements that the UN considers illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians.
With AFP
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