The new bills, which received preliminary approval on Tuesday, stipulate Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, further pushing Israel’s plans to annex the occupied territory.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has condemned in the strongest terms the Israel Knesset’s latest two draft bills on the sovereignty of the Occupied West Bank and settlement expansion.

“The State of Qatar considers this a blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law and relevant resolutions,” the statement said.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the international community, especially the Security Council, to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to take urgent action to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their expansionist plans and settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

On Tuesday, a 25-24 vote gave preliminary approval to two draft laws that seek to extend Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Despite opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party, the 120-member Knesset narrowly voted to advance the proposal in the first of four required readings before it can become law.

A Knesset statement detailed that the Bill aims “to apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel to the territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank)”.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new bills could potentially derail the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“They passed a vote in the Knesset, but the president has made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now,” he said to the press prior to boarding his flight for Israel.

“We think there’s potential for it to threaten the peace deal.”

A separate bill introduced by an opposition party calling for the annexation of the Maale Adumim settlement was also approved.

The bills will now be reviewed by the parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further discussion.

The vote took place just one month after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he would not support Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

Some 683,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements in both the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem combined. Under international law, these settlements are illegal.