"Null and Void": 8 Arab and Islamic Nations Denounce Israel’s Legal Maneuvers to Annex the West Bank

In a powerful diplomatic rebuke on Monday, February 9, 2026, the foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan declared Israel’s recent administrative changes in the West Bank as "illegal and illegitimate." The joint statement came after Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz announced plans to overhaul the legal reality in the territory—a move Smotrich openly admitted aims to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."

The eight nations emphasized that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian lands, citing the 2024 ICJ advisory opinion and UN Security Council Resolution 2334. The European Union joined the condemnation, warning that these measures pave the way for illegal annexation and further settlement expansion. The coalition urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for these "provocative actions" that threaten to ignite a wider regional conflict.