The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a decision by the Israeli government that amounts to a de facto annexation of the West Bank.
The measures announced Sunday include canceling a prohibition on sales of West Bank land to Israeli Jews, declassifying West Bank land registry records to ease land acquisition, transferring construction planning at religious and other sensitive sites in the volatile city of Hebron to Israeli authorities, and allowing Israeli enforcement of environmental and archaeological matters in Palestinian-administered areas.
The measures also would revive a committee that would allow the state of Israel to make “proactive” land purchases in the territory — “a step intended to guarantee land reserves for settlement for generations to come.”
SEE: Israel’s security cabinet approves measures to strengthen control over the West Bank | AP News
In a statement, CAIR said:
“The Israeli government is tightening its grip on the occupied West Bank and paving the way for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. This decision is nothing but a de facto annexation of the West Bank. Congress must condemn this blatantly illegal move. The sovereignty of the Palestinian people must be protected.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com