RAMALLAH, February 17, 2026 (WAFA) – Arab and Islamic countries issued a joint statement on Tuesday strongly condemning the Israeli occupation’s decision to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as state land and to open land registration for the first time since 1967.

The joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the State of Qatar.

The statement affirmed that Israel’s decision to designate lands in the occupied West Bank as so-called “state land” and to approve the commencement of land registration and settlement procedures on a large scale for the first time since 1967 is an illegal step and constitutes a dangerous escalation aimed at accelerating illegal settlement activity, confiscating land, and imposing illegal Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, thus undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The statement indicated that these measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and relevant Security Council resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 2334, in addition to their contradiction with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, which stressed the illegality of measures aimed at changing the legal, historical and demographic status of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the need to end the occupation and prevent the forcible acquisition of land.

K.T