By The South Asia Times

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - A group of Arab and Muslim-majority countries, along with key regional organizations, has issued a joint statement strongly condemning the United States Ambassador to Israel's statement, suggesting that it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank.

The statement was endorsed by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. The secretariats of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League (LAS), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also joined the statement.

The signatories expressed “strong condemnation and profound concern” over the ambassador’s comments, describing them as dangerous and inflammatory.

They said the remarks represent a “flagrant violation” of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and warned that such statements pose a grave threat to regional security and stability.

The statement reaffirmed what it called the categorical rejection by the participating states of any attempt to legitimize Israeli control over occupied Arab territories, including the West Bank.

The ministers emphasized that Israel holds “no sovereignty whatsoever” over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands.

The group also argued that the remarks contradict the vision articulated by US President Donald Trump, as well as proposals aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza and creating a political pathway toward a comprehensive settlement.

According to the statement, those initiatives were intended to contain escalation and establish a framework for a peaceful resolution that would allow the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination through the creation of an independent state.

Comments seen as legitimizing territorial control over Arab lands, the ministers said, undermine these objectives and fuel tensions rather than promote peace.

The signatories reiterated their firm rejection of any attempt to annex the West Bank or separate it from the Gaza Strip. They also voiced strong opposition to continued Israeli settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and rejected any threats to the sovereignty of Arab states.

Warning of broader consequences, the statement said that the continuation of what it described as expansionist and unlawful policies would further inflame violence and weaken prospects for a negotiated peace.

The foreign ministers and organizations reaffirmed their “steadfast commitment” to the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent state based on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and called for an end to the occupation of all Arab lands.