Arab and Muslim countries made clear to US President Donald Trump the dangers of Israeli annexation of the West Bank, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince ...
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The West Bank's Role in the NY Declaration
The West Bank is positioned as an integral and non-negotiable component of the future sovereign Palestinian state, explicitly linked to Gaza in a unified territory under Palestinian Authority (PA) control.
Key aspects include:
Unification with Gaza and PA Governance:
The declaration stresses that Gaza must be "unified with the West Bank" as part of a single Palestinian state, with no tolerance for division, occupation, siege, or territorial fragmentation. Governance, law enforcement, and security across "all Palestinian territory"—explicitly including the West Bank and East Jerusalem—must rest solely with the PA, adhering to the principle of "One State, One Government, One Law, One Gun." This involves disarming non-state actors (e.g., Hamas handing over control in Gaza) and extending PA responsibilities westward, supported by international aid and a transitional administrative framework post-ceasefire.
Occupation and Settlement Activity:
A core
demand is for Israel to immediately halt all settlement expansion, land grabs, and annexation in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), renounce such policies, and address settler violence through UN Security Council Resolution 904 and domestic legislation. The declaration opposes any actions undermining
Palestinian self-determination, citing the International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion on the illegality of the occupation. It calls for international measures, like sanctions on violent settlers, to preserve the West Bank's viability for statehood.
Path to Palestinian Statehood and Reforms:
The West Bank is central to achieving full Palestinian sovereignty, with commitments to PA institutional strengthening, democratic elections (including in East Jerusalem) within one year, and economic measures like releasing withheld tax revenues, easing movement restrictions, and revising trade protocols. Recognition of Palestinian statehood is deemed "essential," paving the way for UN membership and integration into regional frameworks (e.g., trade and security pacts inspired by ASEAN/OSCE models).
Security and Humanitarian Protections: Post-conflict stabilization in the West Bank would involve a temporary UN-mandated international mission (invited by the PA) for civilian protection, security capacity-building, and monitoring. The declaration also condemns escalating violence in the West Bank alongside Gaza events, calling for accountability and de-escalation to enable broader peace.
In essence, the West Bank "fits" as the territorial backbone of Palestinian viability in the two-state framework—protected from erosion, unified with Gaza, and primed for PA-led self-governance—serving as a litmus test for the declaration's implementation.
Follow-up mechanisms, including a Global Alliance and UN General Assembly mobilization in September 2025, aim to track progress. While ambitious, critics note challenges like Israeli political resistance and enforcement gaps.
This one has teeth. 140 signators Vs. 1 Trump