Arab Group calls for UN steps to compel Israel to reverse West Bank annexation
The Arab Group at the U.N. Security Council renewed its condemnation of Israel’s recent measures aimed at asserting control over the West Bank, expanding settlements, enabling settler violence and forcibly displacing Palestinians. The group said these unilateral actions violate the U.N. Charter, international law and relevant U.N. resolutions.
During a Security Council session on the Palestinian issue, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. and current chair of the Arab Group, Ibrahim Olabi, said on behalf of the group that Israel’s actions amount to an attempt to eliminate the prospect of a Palestinian state and undermine peace efforts.
The group welcomed international positions rejecting annexation — including that of U.S. President Donald Trump — and called for concrete measures to compel Israel to reverse policies aimed at annexing Palestinian territory, warning they threaten regional security and stability.
The Arab Group urged the Security Council to act under its mandate to maintain international peace and security. It reaffirmed commitments in the New York Declaration and the July 19, 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, stressing the need to uphold Palestinian self-determination and counter settlement expansion and forced displacement.
The group also condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks in the West Bank and Gaza and its obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza. It stressed the need to respect the ceasefire, including its humanitarian provisions, by fully lifting restrictions on aid delivery.
It reiterated rejection of any attempt to fragment Palestinian territory or separate Gaza from the West Bank and warned of serious consequences from incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Haram al-Sharif.
The Arab Group stressed that ending the Israeli occupation and achieving a just and comprehensive peace—based on UN resolutions, the Madrid framework, the land‑for‑peace principle, and the Arab Peace Initiative—is the only path to regional security and stability.
