A coalition of Arab and Islamic countries, including Nigeria, has issued a joint statement condemning the Israeli Knesset’s approval of two draft laws seeking to impose Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and illegal settlements.
The statement—signed by 16 nations such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Nigeria—described the Israeli parliament’s action as a “blatant violation of international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions,” particularly Resolution 2334, which rejects any measures that alter the demographic or legal status of Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
Released on Thursday through Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the joint declaration reaffirmed that “Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory.”
The signatory countries include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Djibouti, Oman, The Gambia, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
They collectively denounced the Israeli laws as illegal attempts to annex Palestinian land, reiterating the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion that settlement construction and annexation in the occupied West Bank are unlawful.
The statement welcomed the ICJ’s October 22, 2025 opinion, which reaffirmed Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure access to essential supplies for residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including Gaza. The court also underscored the prohibition of starvation, mass displacement, and deportation as instruments of control.
The countries restated their support for the Palestinian right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
They further called on the international community to uphold its “legal and moral responsibilities” by compelling Israel to end its “dangerous escalation and unlawful measures” in the occupied territories.
According to the statement, the nations view this as the only path toward achieving a “just and comprehensive peace” that guarantees stability and security in the region.
