China slams Israeli attempts to annex Palestine's West Bank

China has voiced strong opposition to "all attempts to annex" Palestinian territory, days after Israel’s security cabinet approved new measures to expand its control over the occupied West Bank.

“China has always opposed the construction of new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and opposed all attempts to annex or encroach upon Palestinian territory,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters on Thursday.

On Sunday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved measures aimed at expanding illegal settlement building and increasing Tel Aviv’s control of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli media reported that the decisions include repealing a law that barred the sale of land in the occupied territory to Israeli settlers, reopening sealed land ownership records, and transferring authority over building permits in a settlement bloc near Hebron from a Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.

The measures have triggered international criticism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the decision, warning that it would further weaken the Palestinian Authority.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the latest steps violate Palestinians’ right to self-determination and risk accelerating annexation.

Volker Turk said decisions approved by the Israeli security cabinet are "the latest in a series of measures to annex Palestinian lands in flagrant breach of the right to self-determination."

According to the rights office, a February 8 package would expand Israeli civilian authority in areas A and B of the occupied West Bank, where some powers fall under the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, and would allow Israeli authorities and individuals to acquire land.

Arab League emergency meeting

The Arab League convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday in Cairo, urging US President Donald Trump to honour his pledge to pursue peace and take “practical and clear” steps to prevent Israel from annexing the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Arab League Council said any annexation of Palestinian land would constitute a war crime.

It reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state within the June 4th, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and sovereignty over its holy sites.

Israel has stepped up its raids in the occupied Palestinian territories since its genocidal war on Gaza erupted in October 2023.

Despite a ceasefire agreement signed last October, Israel has committed hundreds of violations, with nearly 600 Palestinians killed and more than 1,400 injured.

Israeli violations have continued even after the United States announced in January that the second phase of the ceasefire had begun.

That phase includes further Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and the start of reconstruction efforts, which the UN estimates will cost around $70 billion.

The ceasefire brought to a halt an Israeli offensive that began on October 8, 2023 and lasted two years.

Nearly 72,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 171,000 wounded, while about 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure was destroyed, according to local authorities.