Between November 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024, Israel went ahead with the implementation of plans to construct over 20,000 housing units in new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem.
Qatar has condemned the latest statements by Israeli justice minister, Yariv Levin, over the annexation of the occupied West Bank, slamming them as an extension of Israel’s “racist policies”.
“Qatar considers these remarks an extension of the occupation’s settlement, colonial, and racist policies, and a blatant violation of international law and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement stressed the need for international action “to confront the occupation’s escalating and dangerous policies that threaten regional security”.
“These include ongoing crimes in the West Bank, violations of religious sanctities, plans to Judaise Jerusalem, and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
Levin’s statements came during a meeting on Wednesday with settler leader Yossi Dagan, where he said that it “is a time of historic opportunity” to annex the West Bank.
“The time for sovereignty has come, the time to apply sovereignty. My position on this matter is firm, it is clear,” Levin said, as quoted by The Times of Israel, citing Dagan’s office.
Levin described the move as “essential” for Israel, echoing the occupying state’s repeated claims over its so-called right to occupy Palestine.
On the same day, 15 senior lawmakers and ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party called for the annexation of the Palestinian territory by July 27, the time of the Knesset’s summer session.
“The strategic partnership, backing and support of the U.S. and President Donald Trump have made it a propitious time to move forward with it now, and ensure Israel’s security for generations,” the ministers said in a joint letter.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in a bloody war in 1967, widely known as “the Six-day War” and Naksa, or “setback”. The deadly war had erupted between Israel on one side and Egypt, Jordan and Syria on the other.
The war also resulted in the forced displacement of at least 300,000 Palestinians from their land.
In July last year, the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion declared Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories as unlawful. The ruling came after a 2022 request by the United Nations General Assembly that sought its opinion on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Qatar was among the majority of 98 countries that voted in favour of the UNGA resolution, whereas 24 other countries, including Israel’s main ally, the United States, voted against the resolution. A total of 53 other members abstained.
While the advisory opinion is non-binding, it dealt a great blow to Israel’s global reputation given its ongoing occupation of Palestine and violations of Palestinians’ rights.
Israel has ramped up its settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank since it launched the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Between November 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024, Israel went ahead with the implementation of plans to construct over 20,000 housing units in new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem alone, the UN said in March.
The same UN report said that Israel demolished 214 Palestinian properties and structures in East Jerusalem during the same period.
