(ICSPR) condemned Israel’s annexation crimes, the transformation of West Bank lands into so-called “state land,” and the continuation of genocide in the Gaza Strip

Date: 16 February 2026

Press Statement & Appeal

The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) condemned in the strongest terms the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to resume procedures for registering lands in the occupied West Bank as “state land,” describing it as a dangerous and unprecedented development since 1967. ICSPR considered the measure a systematic colonial step aimed at re-engineering the legal and demographic reality of the occupied Palestinian territory and entrenching de facto annexation under a false and unlawful administrative cover. It affirmed that the move constituted further implementation of a comprehensive liquidation plan designed to legitimize colonial settlement, sever the geographic continuity between Palestinian cities and towns, and undermine any practical possibility of establishing an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state.

ICSPR stressed that converting more than 60% of the West Bank into so-called “state land” is nothing more than a racist legal mechanism to redistribute occupied land in favor of the colonial settlement project and to impose sovereignty by force, in blatant violation of the principle of the inadmissibility of acquiring territory by war. It added that this criminal policy directly challenges international legitimacy resolutions, foremost among them UN Security Council Resolution 2334, contradicts decisions of the International Court of Justice and international jurisprudence regarding the illegality of occupation and the obligation to end it, and represents an extension of creeping annexation policies aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause through irreversible facts on the ground.

ICSPR stated that this escalation in the West Bank has coincided dangerously with the continuation of genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on various areas of Gaza yesterday, killing 12 Palestinians and injuring 20 others, in a flagrant breach of the ceasefire. The number of violations has exceeded 170, resulting in the killing of 601 people and the injury of 1,670. Accordingly, the total number of those killed since the beginning of the genocidal war has risen to more than 72,000, in addition to thousands still under the rubble. This has occurred alongside the obstruction of humanitarian aid, fuel, medicines, and medical supplies amid the near-collapse of the health and service systems, and the continued destruction of vital infrastructure in the so-called buffer zones, which constitute more than 60% of the Strip.

ICSPR warned that the occupation has continued its policy of collective punishment by obstructing the entry of fuel and humanitarian assistance, restricting medicines and medical supplies, and preventing the entry of temporary housing for hundreds of thousands of displaced persons living in catastrophic conditions. It also noted the reduction of travelers through the Rafah crossing to fewer than 50 passengers per day in both directions, constituting a grave violation of the obligations of an occupying power under international humanitarian law and entrenching siege and starvation as tools of war.

ICSPR emphasized that the combination of annexation policies in the West Bank with genocide, starvation, and siege in Gaza reveals an integrated strategy aimed at reshaping Palestinian reality by force through land seizure in the West Bank and the destruction of life’s foundations in Gaza. This, it said, threatens Palestinian existence politically, demographically, and geographically, and requires urgent international action to activate accountability mechanisms before competent international courts and to end the policy of impunity that has encouraged the occupation to persist in its violations.

ICSPR called on the international community and the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and to take immediate and tangible measures to halt land registration and annexation procedures, stop the aggression and genocide in Gaza, ensure the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid, medical supplies, and fuel, and provide international protection for the Palestinian people within the framework of ending the occupation and dismantling the system of colonial apartheid. ICSPR affirmed that international silence and inaction no longer amount to neutrality but constitute grave dereliction and complicity that threaten the credibility of the international legal order and undermine the foundations of international peace and security.

ICSPR renewed its affirmation that the rights of the Palestinian people to their land, resources, and self-determination are inalienable. It stressed that colonial registration measures will not grant legitimacy to the occupation and that genocide crimes require the restoration of national unity, the adoption of a comprehensive national, legal, and diplomatic strategy, and firm international action to internationalize the conflict and restore respect for international justice. ICSPR underlined the importance of activating global solidarity with Palestine, protecting and expanding boycott and sanctions efforts against the occupying power, holding its political and military leaders accountable before international justice, and forming an Arab and international wall of support, including a global humanitarian alliance, to end colonial annexation and genocide and pave the way for ending the occupation and realizing a fully sovereign Palestinian state.