New York: India has added its name to a joint international statement criticising Israel’s unilateral measures aimed at expanding control over the occupied West Bank. The move marks a shift after India stayed out of the initial group of 85 countries that issued the statement earlier this week.
The statement was endorsed by a wide group of countries and blocs, including the League of Arab States, the European Union, BRICS members Russia, China, Brazil, and South Africa, as well as Australia, Japan, and several South Asian and Indian Ocean neighbours. It was issued ahead of a United Nations meeting on the West Bank and a United States led Board of Peace meeting in Washington.
Reading the statement at the United Nations, the Palestinian Ambassador said the signatories strongly opposed Israeli actions aimed at expanding an unlawful presence in the West Bank. The statement rejected any form of annexation and opposed steps altering the demographic character and legal status of Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
The statement follows recent actions by the Israeli parliament after the Gaza ceasefire. These steps include changes related to land acquisition and documentation checks in West Bank Areas A and B, territories administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo framework. Diplomats view these measures as paving the way for settlement expansion and annexation.
The joint declaration warned that such actions violate international law and weaken prospects for peace and regional stability. It said these steps undermine efforts toward a negotiated settlement.
India’s absence from the initial statement had drawn public criticism from former diplomats. Its decision to later endorse the declaration has drawn attention amid ongoing diplomatic engagements with Arab states and Palestine. The development places India alongside a broad international consensus opposing unilateral changes to the status of the occupied West Bank.
