Iran condemns Israeli Knesset vote on West Bank, Jordan Valley annexation
Iran Press TV
Thursday, 24 July 2025 5:18 PM
Iran's Foreign Ministry has condemned the motion passed in the Israeli parliament (Knesset) that seeks to illegally annex the West Bank and Jordan Valley in breach of international law as the genocide in Gaza persists.
In a statement released on Thursday, the ministry said the move is "another sign of the expansionist and hegemonic nature of this regime"
On Wednesday, Knesset lawmakers voted 71-13 in favor of the motion, a non-binding vote which calls for "applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley" - the Israeli terms for the area.
The move coinciding with both the Gaza genocide and ongoing human rights violations in the West Bank reveals more than ever the fact that "this regime has no goal other than the complete annihilation of Palestine as a land, nation, and independent identity," the statement said.
Israel, the statement said, "knows no limits or boundaries in achieving this evil goal, and does not pay even the slightest attention to UN resolutions and approvals."
The West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East al-Quds, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since then, Israeli settlements have expanded, despite being illegal under international law.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said it "recalls the legal, moral, and political responsibility of all governments and international organizations to help realize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and liberate them from the domination of occupation and apartheid."
The statement warned that the international community's inaction—particularly the UN Security Council's failure to halt genocide and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank—will embolden further Israeli aggression and lawless expansion in the region.
The ministry urged all governments, especially regional and Islamic governments, "to take immediate and effective action to force this regime and its supporters, especially the United States, to stop the killing, warmongering, and expansionism of the Zionist regime."
Israel kills, starves Gazans with 'Western acquiescence'
Separately on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced the escalating genocide and humanitarian disaster in Gaza, facilitated by Western support for Israel.
The Israeli regime "kills with Western weapons, starves with Western acquiescence and evades accountability with American vetoes & Western backing," he wrote in post on his X account on Thursday.
Noting that it is already too late, he underscored "our shared responsibility to act now to save innocent people of Gaza from starvation and mass annihilation."
"The Israeli bestial criminals", he said "must be reined in and prosecuted for their brutal atrocities & wicked crimes."
Israel unleashed its brutal onslaught on October 7, 2023, killing 59,219 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 143,045 others.
Since March, Israel's blockade of Gaza crossings has blocked thousands of aid trucks, intensifying famine and leaving residents without basic necessities. A mass starvation is also gripping Gaza due to Israel's inhumane blockade on the territory that prevents the entry of all essential supplies.
At least 100 Palestinians, including 34 waiting for aid, were killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours alone. The United Nations reports that Israeli forces have shot dead more than 1,000 aid seekers at food distribution points in recent months.
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