In a rare show of unity, foreign ministers of 31 Arab and Islamic countries, along with the secretaries-general of the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), have issued a joint statement denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks promoting the concept of a “Greater Israel.”, reported the Al Jazeera.
The ministers described Netanyahu’s rhetoric as a direct threat to Arab national security, a violation of international law, and a grave challenge to regional and global peace. They said such comments reflect “blatant disregard for international norms and the foundations of stable international relations.”
Netanyahu, in a recent interview with i24, reiterated his attachment to the controversial vision of “Greater Israel,” a term historically associated with expanding Israeli control over territories beyond its current borders, including the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights, and in some interpretations, parts of Jordan and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The joint statement not only rejected Netanyahu’s remarks but also strongly condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank and his rejection of Palestinian statehood, calling these decisions a “flagrant assault” on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination with East Jerusalem as their capital.
Reaffirming international law and the UN Charter, the bloc stressed that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian lands and cited UN Security Council Resolution 2334 as well as the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion declaring the occupation illegal.
The ministers further warned that Israel’s ongoing expansionist policies—military incursions, settlement expansion, settler violence, and repeated assaults on Muslim and Christian holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque—only perpetuate instability and obstruct peace.
The statement also denounced Israeli actions in Gaza as “crimes of aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing,” demanding an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, and an end to the blockade. It categorically rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians and reaffirmed unwavering support for the establishment of an independent, unified Palestinian state under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), governing both Gaza and the West Bank.
The coordinated response reflects growing alarm among Arab and Islamic nations over Israel’s unilateral policies and the risks posed to both regional stability and the global order.
