The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned recent calls by Israeli ministers to annex the occupied West Bank and dismantle the Palestinian Authority, describing them as a blatant political cover for ongoing colonizer violence and systemic violations of international law.
In a strongly worded statement, the ministry denounced what it called “incendiary and colonial rhetoric” from members of Israel’s ruling coalition, particularly those affiliated with the Likud party.
The push to “impose sovereignty” and accelerate the dismantling of Palestinian governance structures, the ministry said, amounts to an official admission of Israel’s unilateral and illegal actions, chief among them, the expansion and construction of illegal colonies and illegal annexation of Palestinian lands.
“These declarations are not isolated political opinions,” the statement read. “They reflect the true objectives of the occupation: to entrench apartheid, erase Palestinian presence, and provide political immunity for settler militias who continue to terrorize civilians, desecrate property, and violate sacred sites.”
The ministry warned that such statements legitimize the systematic targeting of Palestinian communities across the West Bank, where colonizer violence has surged and military incursions have intensified.
It called on the international community to treat these remarks with utmost seriousness, framing them as part of a broader colonial project that undermines any prospect for peace.
“These are not just racist provocations,” the ministry added. “They are expansionist declarations that demand accountability. International law must be enforced to halt these policies and protect the possibility of a two-state solution.”
The statement comes amid growing alarm over Israel’s legislative and military maneuvers in the West Bank, including symbolic motions in the Knesset to apply full Israeli sovereignty and the approval of colonialist plans that would fragment Palestinian territory.
Palestinian officials have warned that such moves are designed to preempt any future negotiations and render a viable Palestinian state impossible.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
– Articles 53 and 147, which prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
