Listen to this article | 2 minsinfoplay videoplay videoVideo Duration 02 minutes 36 seconds play-arrow02:36Israeli security cabinet approves rules to increase control over West Bank

United States President Donald Trump opposes Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank, a White House official has said, as global criticism of the move grows, including from the European Union, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye.

“A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure, and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” the official said on Monday, according to the Reuters news agency.

The comment from the White House came a day after Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and defence minister, Israel Katz, announced new measures extending Israeli control over occupied Palestinian territory.

The measures also make it easier for Israelis to acquire land for new settlements, which are illegal under international law.

Eight Muslim-majority countries denounced Israel’s move in a statement on Monday, saying that the “illegal Israeli decisions and measures” are “aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty” over Palestinian territory.

Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates said the measures were an attempt at “entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the United Kingdom and Spain also joined the rising chorus of condemnation, with the UN chief saying Israel’s actions were “destabilising” and corrosive to the prospects for a two-state solution, according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo asked Dujarric in a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York if Guterres considered Israel’s measures a “de facto annexation” of the occupied West Bank.

“These decisions are not moving us in the right direction. They are driving us further and further away from a two-state solution and from the ability of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people to control their own destiny,” Dujarric said.

Elizondo also asked the spokesman what the UN chief could do to deter Israel.

“The secretary-general will continue to advocate for the respect of international law. He’ll continue to push for a two-state solution. But he can’t do it alone. We want others to do so as well,” Dujarric said.

The UK government called on Israel to reverse its decision in a statement on Monday.

“The UK strongly condemns the Israeli Security Cabinet’s decision yesterday to expand Israeli control over the West Bank,” the government said in a statement.

“Any unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic makeup of Palestine is wholly unacceptable and would be inconsistent with international law. We call on Israel to reverse these decisions immediately,” it added.

The controversial Israeli measures include transferring authority over building permits in Hebron, the occupied West Bank’s largest city, from the Palestinian Authority to Israel.

The measures also strengthen Israeli control over two major religious sites in the southern part of the occupied West Bank: Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

Israeli minister Smotrich said on Sunday that the changes were aimed at “deepening our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state”.

In a statement late on Monday, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s decision, saying it is “contrary to international law” and threatens to trigger more violence in Gaza.

“These measures and any attempt at annexation are unacceptable and jeopardise current efforts to implement the Peace Plan and the ceasefire, increasing the risk of triggering a new wave of violence,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“The Spanish Government urges the Israeli Government to comply with its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and to put an end to its expansionist offensive and the impunity that protects the settlers,” it said.

The European Union also denounced the move earlier in the day.

“The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel’s security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction,” EU spokesman Anouar el Anouni told reporters.