A symbolic resolution calling for the occupied West Bank’s annexation has been approved by Israel’s parliament.
The motion, which calls for “applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley,” was approved by Knesset lawmakers on Wednesday, 71-13.
The West Bank’s annexation “will strengthen the state of Israel, its security, and stop any doubts about the Jewish people’s fundamental right to peace and security in their homeland,” the statement read.
The motion, which was introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, is declarative and has no direct legal repercussions, but it could put the annexation issue on the parliament’s agenda for upcoming debates.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, who lives in an illegal Israeli settlement and is in charge of the West Bank’s and its settlements, first suggested the idea last year.
Since 1967, Israel has been occupying the West Bank along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements have grown since then, despite Israeli law and international law, both in the case of settlement outposts.
Palestinian leaders want a future state to own all three of them. The West Bank is currently home to more than 500,000 Israeli settlers and about 3 million Palestinians.
The West Bank’s annexation, which is seen as the most realistic way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, could render it impossible to establish a viable Palestinian state.
A similar symbolic motion declaring opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state was approved by the Israeli parliament last year.
The motion, according to Hussein al-Sheikh, a deputy to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, “undermines the prospects for peace, stability, and the two-state solution.”
In a post on X, he wrote, “These unilateral Israeli actions blatantly violate international law and the ongoing international consensus regarding the status of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank.”
Any motion for annexation is firmly rejected by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, according to a statement released by the ministry.
The ministry argued that the “colonial measures” “increase a system of apartheid in the West Bank” and “represent a “blatant disregard” for numerous UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion, which was published in July 2024.
The official Palestinian Wafa news agency also warned that such actions would purposefully impede the implementation of a two-state solution.
De facto annexation is already occurring every day, according to the ministry.
Source: Aljazeera
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