Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday publicly denounced a recent Israeli cabinet decision that simplifies the process for Jewish settlers to buy land in the occupied West Bank, framing the move as an illegal attempt to entrench Israeli control. The rebuke came as the king hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, underscoring Amman’s role as a vocal regional interlocutor amid rising tensions over settlements and Gaza.
Israel’s security cabinet on February 8 approved measures purportedly to streamline purchases by settlers in the West Bank, which Israeli officials said were intended to strengthen administrative control and accelerate settlement expansion. Critics view the steps as part of a broader pattern of unilateral measures that create facts on the ground and make a negotiated two-state solution increasingly difficult.
King Abdullah told President Abbas that Jordan rejects any attempt to impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank or to legitimize settlement activity that violates Palestinian rights and international law. He also pressed for the full implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and urged unfettered increases in humanitarian aid into Gaza to address what he called a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis.
The Jordanian statement was echoed by a joint declaration from the foreign ministers of eight countries — Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — who condemned what they described as Israel’s recent illegal expansionist policies in the West Bank. Their communique reaffirmed the long-standing international position that Israel holds no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories.
The coordinated diplomatic reaction is notable for several reasons. Jordan, which maintains a special custodial role over Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem under international agreements, hosts a large Palestinian population and has domestic political incentives to oppose unilateral Israeli steps. The joint statement by influential Arab and Muslim states signals fraying patience with settlement-driven policies even among countries that in recent years have sought warmer ties with Israel.
For the international community, the developments complicate an already fraught landscape. Settlement consolidation deepens legal and political obstacles to restarting credible Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and increases the likelihood of renewed unrest. The call for robust humanitarian access to Gaza ties the West Bank dispute to the wider regional fallout from the Gaza war and ongoing ceasefire diplomacy.
What follows will matter: collective Arab and Muslim pressure could translate into stronger diplomatic initiatives at the United Nations or renewed appeals to major powers, but it also risks hardening positions in Jerusalem. If Israel’s government persists with measures that entrench settlements, it may face intensified diplomatic isolation and potential consequences for security cooperation with regional partners, even as domestic political calculus in Israel rewards such moves.
International observers will be watching whether the collective statements by Amman and other capitals produce tangible diplomatic leverage or merely serve as a symbolic rebuke. Either way, the episode highlights how unilateral land-policy decisions in the West Bank continue to ripple far beyond the territory itself, shaping regional alliances and the fragile prospects for a two-state outcome.