Escalations in the West Bank have been on the rise since October 7, where more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and 9,450 others arrested by Israel.
Qatar has denounced Israel’s decision to legalise five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, and called on the global community to pressure the country to comply with international law.
In a statement on Saturday, Qatar’s foreign ministry voiced its strong “condemnation” over the Israeli decision, describing it as “a new episode in a series of its continuous violations of international legitimacy resolutions”.
The Gulf state, currently a crucial mediator between Israel and Hamas, slammed the Israeli occupation policy as one that is “an obstacle to efforts aimed at preventing the expansion of violence in the region and achieving comprehensive and just peace”.
The controversial Israeli move came after far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich proposed legalising five settlements in the occupied West Bank, while simultaneously imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.
Smotrich had said that the decision came as a response to each country that has recently recognised the Palestinian state amid growing outrage over Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, widely referred to as a genocide.
Since the beginning of the war on October 7, the countries that recognised Palestine’s statehood include Spain, Ireland, Norway, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados.
“For every country that unilaterally recognises a Palestinian state, we will establish a settlement. Five countries made this mistake, so we will establish five settlements,” Smotrich said in a video, threatening to bring in “a million settlers”.
Palestinian presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh described the Israeli decision as part of “a full-fledged war” against Palestinians.
“Israel challenges the will of the international community with blind U.S. support through arms, money, and political cover, enabling its continued crimes of genocide against the Palestinian people,” he said.
The Palestinian spokesperson stressed that “there will be no security or stability without the establishment of a Palestinian state free from colonisation and colonists”.
The Israeli decision was met with condemnation by several countries, including Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, as well as the European Union.
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and are widely viewed as obstructing the path to Palestine’s statehood.
According to the United Nations, at least 700,000 Israeli settlers are living in the illegally occupied West Bank, with settlements significantly increasing over the past decade.
On March 8, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk called out Israel’s “long-standing patterns of oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians”.
“The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State,” Turk said.
Since October 7, the occupied West Bank has witnessed almost daily deadly raids, killing 553 Palestinians, including more than 100 children. Furthermore, a mass detainment campaign by Israeli occupation forces has seen the arrest of more than 9,000 Palestinians, including minors.
In the same time period, at least 37,834 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, as the coastal enclave has been reduced to rubble.
Meanwhile, Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli prisons have also witnessed unspeakable violations, with at least 54 prisoners killed behind bars since October 7.
According to the Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, the prisoners died inside the prisons “due to torture, inhumane detention conditions, systematic abuse, and deliberate attacks”.
“The situation inside prisons and camps has become increasingly severe due to the punitive policies of the occupation authorities against prisoners and detainees,” Addameer said last week.
