WEST BANK,(The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)The Hamas Movement said that the Israeli Knesset’s preliminary approval of two draft laws, one to annex the West Bank and the other to impose sovereignty over the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, “exposes the ugly colonial face of the Israeli occupation.”
In a press statement, Hamas asserted that the Israeli occupation insists on continuing its attempts to legitimize settlement expansion and impose Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories, in blatant violation of all relevant international laws and resolutions.
The Movement emphasized that the frantic Israeli efforts to annex West Bank land are null and void, lacking any legitimacy, and do not alter the fact that the West Bank is Palestinian land, historically, legally, and as affirmed by the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion issued in 2024.
Hamas held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the consequences of these illegal laws, urging the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to condemn this step. It also called for immediate action to rein in the occupation’s policies and hold its leaders accountable for their crimes against the Palestinian people and blatant violations of international law.
Earlier today, the Israeli Knesset approved in preliminary readings two draft laws to impose “Israeli sovereignty” over the West Bank and specifically on the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, despite diplomatic objections and pressure to halt the move.
The first bill, introduced by MK Avi Maoz of the far-right Noam party, calls for imposing Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank. The second, submitted by Avigdor Lieberman, targets the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
The vote showed 32 Knesset members in favor of Lieberman’s proposal and 9 against. The broader West Bank annexation bill was supported by 25 members and opposed by 24.
Several members of the Likud, Shas, and Kahol Lavan parties were absent during the vote. Members of United Torah Judaism voted against the West Bank annexation bill.
Notably, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein defied his party’s stance and supported the bill, along with members from Yisrael Beiteinu, Religious Zionism, and Agudat Yisrael, including Yitzhak Goldknopf, Yisrael Eichler, and Yaakov Tessler.
Arab parties and the Democratic Party voted against the bill. Some Yesh Atid members abstained from entering the chamber during the vote, despite having the numbers to block the measure.
The vote came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to delay the legislation following international warnings, but it ultimately passed with majority support in the preliminary stage.
Far-right Noam leader Avi Maoz rejected Netanyahu’s request to postpone the proposal, reaffirming his determination to enforce Israeli law in the West Bank.
This move is seen as a dangerous escalation in the annexation agenda and deepens the entrenchment of the occupation, in clear defiance of international law and UN resolutions. The legislation will now proceed through additional readings before it can be enacted.
In July 2023, the Knesset had already passed a declaration calling for imposing “Israeli sovereignty” over the West Bank with the support of 71 members, though it carried no immediate legal effect at the time.
