{"id":29185,"date":"2026-02-12T04:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T04:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=29185"},"modified":"2026-02-12T04:40:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T04:40:34","slug":"a-step-in-the-wrong-direction-israels-west-bank-plans-prompt-global-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=29185","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A step in the wrong direction\u2019: Israel\u2019s West Bank plans prompt global backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

US, Britain, EU, and Arab nations condemn plans that Israeli ministers say will \u2018kill the idea of a Palestinian state.\u2019<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli measures to tighten its control of the West Bank have prompted a global backlash, including a signal from Washington restating the Trump administration\u2019s opposition to annexation of the occupied territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Announcing the measures, which involve extending Israeli control in areas that are currently under Palestinian administration, Israel\u2019s defence minister, Israel Katz, made clear they were aimed at strengthening Israeli settlements in the West Bank and pre-empting the emergence of an independent sovereign Palestine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measures,\u00a0passed by the Israeli security cabinet<\/a>, also make it easier to find out who owns land in the West Bank and for non-Arabs to buy property in the territory. It was not initially clear when the new rules would come into effect, but they require no further approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,\u201d Katz said in a joint statement with the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU called the measures \u201canother step in the wrong direction\u201d and said sanctions were \u201cstill on the table\u201d, including the possible suspension of some parts of the EU-Israel trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A joint statement by a group of Arab and Islamic states, which will be central to Donald Trump\u2019s hopes of implementing a peace plan in Gaza<\/a>, said they \u201ccondemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signatories \u2013 including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey \u2013 said the new measures would \u201cinflame violence, deepen the conflict and endanger regional stability and security\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK said it \u201cstrongly condemns\u201d the Israeli measures. \u201cAny unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic makeup of Palestine is wholly unacceptable and would be inconsistent with international law,\u201d a UK statement said. \u201cWe call on Israel to reverse these decisions immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Australian government, which is\u00a0hosting a visit by the Israeli president Isaac Herzog,<\/a>\u00a0also joined the global condemnation. \u201cAustralia objects to the Israeli security cabinet\u2019s decision to expand Israel\u2019s control over the West Bank. This decision will undermine stability and security,\u201d the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. \u201cThe Australian government has been clear that settlements are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace. Altering the demographic composition of Palestine is unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA two-state solution remains the only viable path to long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roman<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The outrage at the Israeli measures came on the eve of a planned White House meeting between the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Donald Trump on Wednesday. The administration made no formal comment, but a White House official stated to reporters, indicating its opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Trump has clearly stated that he does not support Israel annexing the West Bank<\/a>,\u201d the statement said. \u201cA stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration\u2019s goal to achieve peace in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new measures are wide-ranging and aimed directly at authority and control of territory in the West Bank. They repealed a law dating back to the era of Jordanian rule before 1967, which banned the sale of land to non-Arabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also transfer authority over building licences in Hebron from the Palestinian-run municipality to the Israeli civil administration, the army\u2019s occupation authority in the territory. The transfer could violate a 1997 Hebron protocol, which divided the city into two sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jewish settlement around Rachel\u2019s Tomb in Bethlehem is also transferred from Palestinian governance to direct Israeli control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palestinian Authority\u2019s control over its designated parts of the West Bank has been\u00a0severely weakened over the <\/a>past decades\u00a0by a lack of money, aggressive Israeli obstruction and settlement-building, as well as its own corruption. It stated its capital in Ramallah, warning that the new Israeli measures were aimed at \u201cdeepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/feb\/10\/israel-west-bank-plans-global-backlash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US, Britain, EU, and Arab nations condemn plans that Israeli ministers say will \u2018kill the idea of a Palestinian state.\u2019 Israeli measures to tighten its control of the West Bank have prompted a global backlash, including a signal from Washington restating the Trump administration\u2019s opposition to annexation of the occupied territory. Announcing the measures, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[25547,24508,26887,23749,1737,10003,1510,23750,25456,26888,4935,1515],"class_list":["post-29185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-annexation","tag-atrocities-2","tag-brutralities","tag-famine-2","tag-gaza-2","tag-genocide-2","tag-israel-2","tag-starvation-2","tag-violation-of-human-rights-2","tag-violations-of-un-charter-2","tag-war-crimes-2","tag-west-bank-2","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29188,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29185\/revisions\/29188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}