BERITA BAHASA INDONESIA

Appearance (BETA) Follow system settings Select an optionAlways lightAlways darkFollow system settingsFind any issues using dark mode? Please let us know

Multiple Muslim-majority countries and the UN secretary-general have expressed their concern over Israel's West Bank plan. (AP: Mahmoud Illean)

The United Nations says it is "gravely concerned" over Israeli plans to expand control over the occupied West Bank.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and a number of other regional states have also condemned Israel's move.

It is unclear when the new rules will take effect but they do not require further approval.

Link copiedShareShare articleInternational outrage is growing at Israeli plans to tighten the country's grip over the occupied West Bank, with the United Nations chief saying he is "gravely concerned".

Earlier, Saudi Arabia and seven other Muslim-majority countries condemned the new Israeli measures, which would pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The plans, approved by the security cabinet, would allow Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly, and extend greater Israeli control over areas where the Palestinian Authority exercises power.

It is unclear when the new rules will take effect but they do not require further approval.

UN secretary-general António Guterres warned that the changes were "eroding the prospects for the two-state solution", spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

António Guterres says Israel's actions are destabilising. (Reuters: Eduardo Munoz)

The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is seen by many on the religious right as Israeli land.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that the changes aimed at "deepening our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state".

Critics say the E1 project would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state.

Mr Guterres called Israel's actions "destabilising" and pointed to an International Court of Justice finding that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territory was illegal.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey "condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty", a Saudi statement said.

It called them 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".

The reform strengthens Israeli control in the West Bank. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

The Israeli measures also envisage transferring authority over building permits for settlements in the Palestinian city of Hebron — the West Bank's largest — from the Palestinian Authority to Israel.

In addition, the reform strengthens Israeli control over two major religious sites in the southern West Bank: Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah, which exercises limited control over some areas of the West Bank, said the move was aimed at "deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank".

"What they want is to drive Palestinians into small pieces of land, basically, their major cities, enclaves, and the rest is gone," Palestinian political scientist and former minister Ali Jarbawi said.

Despite US President Donald Trump's objections to the annexation of the West Bank, new settlement projects are approved, with some Israelis excited while Palestinians are left fearful. 

Yonatan Mizrachi of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog, said the steps would further weaken the Palestinian Authority, which was established under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s as an interim governing body pending the creation of a fully fledged Palestinian state.

"Israel is actually advancing annexation and that's something that we've seen for three years, but what is also significant in this case is that Israel has also decided to weaken the Palestinian Authority," Mr Mizrachi said.

The announcement comes days ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States, where he is due to meet US President Donald Trump.

Washington has yet to formally comment on the new measures.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

About 3 million Palestinians live in the territory.

Another 200,000 Israelis live in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, which the UN says is part of the Palestinian territories.

Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesPremier fights back at police brutality claims as videos show violent clashesTopic:Police

Topic:Child Sexual Abuse

Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War

Analysis by Matthew Doran

Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War

Occupied Palestinian Territories

Unrest, Conflict and War

Topic:Child Sexual Abuse

Commonwealth asks to meet Roblox after child grooming reports. Here's what we knowTopic:Explainer

Topic:Child Sexual Abuse

This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.