By SCM Staff Writer I Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025
JERUSALEM — The State of Qatar has issued a forceful condemnation of the Israeli Knesset’s preliminary approval of two draft laws aimed at applying Israeli sovereignty to the occupied West Bank and a settlement, labeling the move a “blatant violation of international law.”
In a statement released late Wednesday, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the legislative steps “in the strongest terms,” adding its voice to a growing chorus of regional criticism aimed at the contentious votes.
The Ministry’s statement asserted that the preliminary legislative approvals constitute a “blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law and relevant resolutions.”
Doha, which has played a crucial mediating role between Israel and Palestinian factions, notably called for international intervention to halt the process.
The Ministry urged the international community, “especially the Security Council, to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to take urgent action to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their expansionist plans and settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
The statement concluded by reiterating Qatar’s “firm and longstanding position” in support of the two-state solution, which it defined as guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Qatari reaction aligns with swift condemnations issued earlier in the day by the Palestinian Authority, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the terror group Hamas, all of whom rejected the Knesset’s move as an illegal step toward formal annexation.
In Jerusalem, the votes have deepened internal political rifts. The primary bill, which seeks to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, was introduced by the far-right Noam faction, a member of the opposition.
The move was widely seen as a deliberate provocation against Prime Minister Netanyahu, who ordered his Likud faction to oppose the measure.
The preliminary passage was secured only after a narrow victory thanks to a decisive vote by a lone Likud rebel, Yuli Edelstein, who defied the party line.
The Prime Minister’s Office quickly released a statement dismissing the vote as a “provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging our relations with the United States,” which has signaled its strong opposition to any unilateral annexation moves.
