Qatar denounces Israeli annexation plans as challenge to international law

Qatar on Tuesday dismissed Israeli statements about annexing areas in southern Lebanon and parts of the Gaza Strip, calling the plans a “flagrant challenge to international law and legitimate international resolutions.”

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the statements referred to areas in southern Lebanon and parts of Gaza extending to the “Yellow Line”. It called upon the international community to act against what it called Israel’s expansionist plans and settlement policy in occupied Palestinian territories.

The ministry reaffirmed Qatar’s support for the Palestinian cause and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. It also reiterated its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty over its entire territory.

The statement followed a day after the United Nations told the Security Council that Israel’s expanding administrative and territorial control over the West Bank amounted to creeping annexation and had “no legal effect”. The UN Also said that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory have no legal validity under international law.

Qatar has repeatedly rejected unilateral steps to change the status of occupied Palestinian territory and has called for disputes to be resolved through international law and negotiations.