Eduardo González
The Spanish government has “strongly” condemned the recent decision by the Israeli government to register large areas of the West Bank as “state property,” which it considers a “flagrant violation of international law” and of the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.
The decision, which declares large areas of the West Bank as state property for the first time since the occupation of Palestinian territory in 1967, was approved this past Sunday at the proposal of Finance Minister and ultranationalist leader Bezalel Smotrich; Justice Minister Yariv Levin; and Defense Minister Israel Katz, ostensibly to regulate agricultural holdings and clarify the status of the occupied areas in the West Bank.
“The Government of Spain strongly condemns the recent decision by the Israeli Government to approve the registration of large areas of the West Bank as ‘state property,’” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement on Tuesday.
“This decision by the Government of Israel, in addition to others recently adopted, represents an attempt to unilaterally alter the situation on the ground, advancing the de facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and threatening the viability of the Palestinian state,” it warned.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these actions by the Government of Israel constitute “another flagrant violation of international law” and of the advisory opinion issued by the ICJ in 2024, and undermine “all efforts to implement the US Peace Plan endorsed by Resolution 2803 to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
“Spain reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the two-state solution, in accordance with the New York Declaration, which will ensure the future of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, encompassing Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” it continued.
“The Government of Spain will continue to systematically condemn, at all levels, the illegality of the Israeli government’s decisions, as well as the violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli forces against the Palestinian population and their livelihoods, and urges the Israeli government to reverse its decisions, reminding it of its responsibility for these acts, which cannot go unpunished,” it concluded.
The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned these “unilateral measures,” which represent “a de facto annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory” and constitute “a threat to security and stability, a dangerous escalation, and a flagrant violation of international law and internationally recognized resolutions.”
On February 9, the Spanish government also condemned the Israeli government’s decision to repeal the law that restricts property acquisition and registration in the West Bank, as well as the administrative measures that grant it jurisdiction over violations of water management regulations, environmental damage, and damage to archaeological sites in Areas A and B.
These decisions—also proposed by Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz, and which, according to Spain, “are contrary to international law”—alter the status quo of the territory and “threaten the viability and territorial and political unity of a Palestinian state in accordance with the 1967 delimitation.” They allow Israel to repeal a Jordanian law that prohibited the sale of land to non-Arabs in the West Bank, including Israeli settlers, and to extend the application of the law into areas that the Oslo Accords reserved for the Palestinian National Authority.