The Foreign Ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have issued a joint statement forcefully condemning the escalating wave of Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The ministers strongly denounced recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian places of worship, including the desecration of the Grand Mosque in Jiljilya and Al-Farouq Mosque in Mazar’a al-Nubani, north of Ramallah. They described these assaults as blatant violations of the sanctity of religious sites, international law, and international humanitarian law.

The joint statement holds Israel, as the occupying power, fully responsible for these repeated attacks, emphasizing that such illegal measures and unchecked settler extremism are deliberately fueling instability, violence, and extremism across the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Foreign Ministers expressed their absolute rejection of these deplorable acts and called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral obligations by compelling Israel to immediately halt its dangerous escalation, end its illegal practices in the West Bank, stop settler violence, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable without impunity.

Reaffirming their unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, the ministers expressed full solidarity with the Palestinian people and their legitimate struggle. They reiterated strong backing for the realization of the Palestinians’ inalienable national rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The statement further emphasized support for all genuine efforts aimed at ending the Israeli occupation and achieving a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, international law, relevant UN resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative.

This unified position from major Arab and Muslim countries underscores growing international frustration with Israel’s continued occupation and settlement expansion, which Palestinians and rights groups have long condemned as systematic policies aimed at undermining the prospects for a viable Palestinian state. (ILKHA)