\u2022 Pakistan asks the international community to reject the provocative decision allowing the takeover of occupied land as state property
\u2022 EU calls annexation illegal, Arab nations denounce \u2018threat to peace efforts\u2019
\u2022 Israel imposes restrictions, deploys police around Al-Aqsa<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JERUSALEM \/ ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan denounced <\/a>the latest Israeli move to convert areas of the West Bank into \u201cstate property\u201d, the UN chief called upon Tel Aviv to reverse its new, \u201cunlawful\u201d policy allowing registration of the occupied land in the occupied territory as state property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel\u2019s foreign ministry claimed the measure, approved late on Sunday, would enable \u201ctransparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes,\u201d but the move drew strong condemnations from across the globe for its violation of international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this new measure was destabilising and unlawful, according to a statement by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan also denounced the step as a clear violation of international law as well as relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. Islamabad urged the international community to reject the decision, said a statement issued by the For\u00adeign Office spokesperson. It added that the occupying power continued to disregard international law and its provocative actions undermined the prospects for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPakistan calls on the international community to take concrete measures to end Israeli impunity, and ensure respect for international law,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Undermine peace efforts.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan also criticised the move as illegal. The measure is \u201caimed at impo\u00adsing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank\u201d that would undermine peace efforts in the region, Saudi Arabia\u2019s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah II said the actions \u201cundermine efforts to restore calm and thr\u00ade\u00adaten to exacerbate the conflict,\u201d according to a statement released by the royal court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The European Union called on Israel to reverse the move. \u201cThis constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control,\u201d EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. \u201cWe reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ramallah-based Palest\u00adinian Authority called for inte\u00adr\u00adnational intervention to prevent the \u201cde facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israeli anti-settlement watc\u00ad\u00adh\u00addog Peace Now called the measure a \u201cmega land grab\u201d. Jonathan Mizrachi, the NGO\u2019s co-director, told AFP<\/em> that the move would attribute new resources for land registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to deal with it,\u201d Mizrachi said, adding that the grey area over Area C land ownership was likely to be used against Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of land that Palestinians consider theirs, they will find out it\u2019s not theirs under this new registration process,\u201d he said, believing the move would further the Israeli right\u2019s annexation agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Changing demography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palesti\u00adnian state, but many on Israel\u2019s religious right want to take over the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest Israeli initiatives come in the wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to rights groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory permanently, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave,\u201d UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n US President Donald Trump has opposed Israel\u2019s annexation of the West Bank, saying stability in the territory helps keep Israel secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, he has held off from dire\u00adctly criticising the new Israeli measures, despite the international outrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around three million Palestinians live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967.<\/p>\n\n\n\n