ISTANBUL, Feb 24 - A coalition of foreign ministers including those of Brazil, France, Spain and Turkey publicly denounced recently announced Israeli measures that they say impose extensive extensions of Israeli control over the West Bank.
The joint declaration, released late on Monday by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, asserted that the measures represent broad alterations to the status of land in the occupied territory. In the statement the ministers said: "Changes are wide-ranging, reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israeli 'state land', accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration."
Alongside Brazil, France, Spain and Turkey, other signatories included Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar. The heads of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also added their signatures to the document.
The statement responds to steps approved by Israel's cabinet on February 15 that the ministers said tighten Israel's control over the occupied West Bank and simplify processes for settlers to acquire land. Palestinians characterized the cabinet measures as a "de-facto annexation" of parts of the territory.
The West Bank is among the lands Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of that territory remains under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in certain areas administered by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
In its text the joint statement described the settlements, and the decisions intended to facilitate them, as "a flagrant violation of international law" and labeled those steps as moving toward what it called "unacceptable de facto annexation." The ministers warned that the measures undermine ongoing efforts aimed at peace and stability in the region and endanger what they described as any meaningful prospect of regional integration.
The document therefore frames the recent Israeli approvals as not only a change in administrative practice but also as something that, in the view of the signatories, threatens diplomatic and regional frameworks intended to foster long-term stability.
Context clarity - The joint statement and the list of signatories are presented as issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry; the article does not provide additional details on subsequent diplomatic actions or on any economic measures tied to the announcement.
What remains unspecified - The statement does not enumerate exact parcels of land, nor does it detail how the new measures will be implemented administratively or legally beyond the broad descriptions quoted in the joint declaration.