UAE condemns Israeli minister's remarks on West Bank expansion

The UAE has strongly condemned the statements of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding issuing instructions to prepare for imposing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank during the coming year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed in a statement its categorical rejection of all provocative statements and measures aimed at changing the legal status in the occupied Palestinian territories, and all practices that violate international legitimacy resolutions.

The Israeli minister pledged on Monday to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in 2025, calling Donald Trump's return to power in the United States "an important opportunity".

"The year 2025 will be, with God's help, the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria," the minister said, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

The ministry said these actions threaten further dangerous escalation and tension in the region, and hinder efforts to achieve peace and stability.

The authority also stressed the need to support all regional and international efforts to revive the peace process in the Middle East, as well as to put an end to the illegal practices that threaten the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

It also reiterated that the UAE is steadfast in its commitment to promoting peace and justice and achieving the rights of Palestinian people.

The ministry called on the international community to make efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, avoid further escalation of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and the region, and to push forward all efforts to achieve comprehensive and just peace.