Hamas condemns Israeli Knesset vote backing West Bank’s annexation

The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, condemned on Wednesday the Israeli Knesset (parliament) approval of a non-binding motion in favour of annexing the West Bank, Anadolu agency reported.

Hamas released a statement saying “the vote by the Zionist occupation’s Knesset on a draft resolution to impose sovereignty over the occupied West Bank in preparation for annexation is null and void, has no legitimacy, and will not alter the identity of Palestinian land.”

Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank to “escalate resistance in all its forms to thwart the projects of the fascist Zionist occupation.”

The group also urged the international community to take action to “put an end to the recklessness of the occupation, its fascist policies, and its ongoing violations of our Palestinian people’s rights.”

For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also decried the vote and said the Israeli occupation has complete control over the West Bank and carries out all forms of crimes against the Palestinians including ethnic cleansing, the destruction of infrastructure and land confiscation, while allowing settler gangs to carry out all forms of crimes against the Palestinian people and their properties. 

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The Israeli Knesset, or parliament, voted Wednesday for a non-binding motion for the agenda to annex the occupied West Bank.

The motion was backed by 71 members of the 120-seat assembly against 13 votes, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.

According to the newspaper, the proposal is not legally or legislatively binding but rather “a declaration by the Knesset.”

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East War.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the occupied territory by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

READ: Knesset to vote on imposing Israeli sovereignty over West Bank