Latest Israeli Measures Significantly Erode the Possibility of Achieving the Two-State Solution on the 1967 Lines

The package of illegal measures adopted by the Israeli Cabinet on 8 February 2026, which aims to expand Israeli settlements and tighten the Israeli occupation control, including in the Oslo-defined Areas “A” and “B” and key historic Palestinian sites in Hebron and Bethlehem, is null and void under international law. 

Israel, the occupying Power, has no legal or political standing to extend Israeli land law on any part of the occupied State of Palestine or to conduct any measures that aim to subordinate Palestinian cultural heritage and environmental resources to Israeli colonial jurisdiction. These unprecedented measures violate the most fundamental principles of international law, namely the prohibition on the acquisition of land by force, the prohibition on violating territorial integrity, and the denial of the right to self-determination.

Implementing these measures would effectively undermine the decades-old political process that the international community has invested significantly in. It also directly contradicts the Saudi-French initiative that led to the adoption of the New York Declaration by 146 states in July 2025. Such measures also undermine the commitments of the current US administration, which publicly opposed the annexation of the West Bank.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice clearly and unequivocally concluded that the presence of Israel, the occupying Power, in the territory of the State of Palestine is unlawful. Nonetheless, Israel is persistently defying this ruling, deepening its colonial settlement activities and perpetuating forcible transfer, persecution, and apartheid against the people of Palestine. 

We urge all UN member states, both individually and collectively, to fulfill their responsibilities and take concrete legal measures to compel the Government of Israel to reverse these actions. International organizations, including UN agencies, should do everything possible to cease these grave violations of fundamental international norms. The International Criminal Court must promptly initiate investigations into these criminal acts.

The latest measures announced by the Israeli Cabinet will have serious implications that will significantly erode the possibility of achieving the two-State solution on the 1967 lines and will make the entire region, already drenched in bloodshed and at risk of war, an even more dangerous place with bleak prospects for the future.