‘A step in the wrong direction’: Israel’s West Bank plans prompt global backlash | The Guardian

Israel's recent measures to tighten control over the West Bank have sparked a global backlash, with the US, Britain, EU, and Arab nations condemning the plans that Israeli ministers say will 'kill the idea of a Palestinian state'. The new measures, passed by the Israeli security cabinet, aim to strengthen Israeli settlements in the West Bank and pre-empt the emergence of an independent sovereign Palestine by making it easier to find out who owns land in the West Bank and for non-Arabs to buy property in the territory. The EU has called the measures 'another step in the wrong direction' and stated that sanctions are still on the table, including the possible suspension of some parts of the EU-Israel trade agreement. A joint statement by a group of Arab and Islamic states condemned the Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, warning that they would inflame violence, deepen the conflict, and endanger regional stability and security. The UK has also strongly condemned the Israeli measures, calling any unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic makeup of Palestine wholly unacceptable and inconsistent with international law.