Saudi Arabia to Turkey Condemn Israel Over West Bank 'State Land' Designation
Condemnation has poured in from numerous countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, against Israel over its decision to approve the registration of most land in the West Bank as “state land”. These nations have described the move as a violation of international law.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by Al Arabiya on Monday (16 February 2026), condemned Israel’s latest step to further consolidate control over the West Bank, stating it aimed to “impose new legal and administrative realities on the occupied West Bank”.
According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Tel Aviv’s move “undermines ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region”.
“Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated firmly in its response.
In its statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry also reaffirmed its “absolute rejection of these illegal measures, which constitute a grave violation of international law, undermine the two-state solution, and represent an attack on the legitimate right of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent sovereign state within the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
Similar condemnation, as reported by Al Jazeera and AFP, came from Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.
The Egyptian government, in its statement, condemned Israel’s move as a “dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, separately, described Tel Aviv’s action as a “flagrant violation” of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2334 of 2016.
Qatar, in a statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned “the decision to convert West Bank land into so-called ‘state land’” as it represented “an extension of illegal plans to strip the Palestinian people of their rights”.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry emphasised the need for international solidarity to pressure Israel into halting such measures, in order to “avoid their serious consequences”.
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s decision “in the strongest possible terms” and described it as a “flagrant violation of international law”.
Further condemnation came from Turkey, which denounced the move as an attempt to impose Israeli authority over the West Bank and expand settlement activities.
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the move “null and void” and stressed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories. Ankara criticised Israel’s expansionist policies in the West Bank, which it said were undermining ongoing peace efforts and damaging prospects for a two-state solution.
Israeli anti-settlement watchdog organisation Peace Now also condemned the move as “mass-scale land seizure”.
The wave of condemnation followed the Israeli government’s approval on Sunday (15 February) of a proposal to register most land in the West Bank as “state land” if Palestinians cannot prove ownership.
This marks the first such move since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967.
The controversial proposal, according to Israeli local television broadcaster KAN, was put forward by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The Palestinian Authority reacted strongly, warning that Israel’s move amounted to “de facto annexation” and a violation of international law. The Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent what it described as “the commencement of a de facto annexation process and the weakening of the foundations of a Palestinian state”.
The Palestinian Authority also stressed that Israel’s unilateral actions “will not confer legitimacy over Palestinian land and will not alter the legal and historical status of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as occupied territories under international law”.