LOC11:08
08:08 GMT
RAMALLAH, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- Palestinian Vice President Hussain Al-Sheikh on Monday urged the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the UN Security Council to hold emergency sessions to discuss recent decisions by the Israeli occupation government.
In a press statement, Al-Sheikh stressed the need for a strong Arab, Islamic, and international position condemning the measures and demanding that the occupation government immediately reverse them.
The Israeli "Cabinet" reportedly approved a series of decisions altering the legal and administrative status of the West Bank to deepen settlement expansion and facilitate annexation.
Among the measures is the cancellation of the Jordanian law that previously prohibited the sale of West Bank land to Jews, now allowing settlers to buy land freely, similar to areas occupied in 1948.
The decisions transfer building permit powers in Al-Khalil, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and other religious sites to the occupation's civil administration, establish a municipal body for Rachel's Tomb, and extend environmental and regulatory laws to Areas A and B.
The Israeli measures include renewing the "Land Acquisition Committee" to enable preemptive land purchases for future settlements, strengthening occupation control over the West Bank, while Al-Khalil Municipality condemned the actions as violations of its legal and administrative authority.
The statement warned that stripping planning and municipal powers, particularly around the Ibrahimi Mosque, constitutes an unlawful and dangerous alteration of the religious, administrative, and security status quo, threatening freedom of worship, residents' rights, and Al-Khalil's social and economic fabric.
The municipality criticized the establishment of a separate settlement municipality within the city, describing it as an attempt to isolate Palestinian residents, seize large amounts of land under settlement policy, and further entrench de facto annexation of the area.
The Israeli Peace Movement said the occupation's decisions allowing settlers to buy land without restrictions or government oversight could strengthen settler control and open the door to real estate fraud.
It added that the measures withdraw Palestinian Authority powers in Areas A, B, and Al-Khalil, cancel laws limiting land purchases, remove permit requirements, allow Israeli supervision of land transactions, and create a special administrative body for Rachel's Tomb to manage budgets and site development. (end)
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