The peace process in the Gaza conflict may face another setback, after the United States announced that it would soon provide passport services to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank for the first time, enabling settlers to access these services, defying international law.

The latest move also contradicts the US administration's stance against Israel's annexation of the West Bank.

According to Peace Now, an Israeli nonprofit advocating for peace, an estimated 3 million people live in the West Bank, 85 percent of whom are Palestinians.

The International Court of Justice estimates that 465,000 settlers live in the West Bank, including tens of thousands of dual US-Israeli nationals. Various reports estimate the number of the latter at around 60,000.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the US embassy in Jerusalem said that as part of the "Freedom 250 initiative" and their "efforts to reach all Americans", consular officers would be providing routine passport services in Efrat beginning on Friday. This will be followed by planned outreaches in the next couple of months to Ramallah, Beitar Illit, Haifa, Jerusalem, Netanya, and Beit Shemesh, with the embassy's X post saying that the officers would be on-site at each location for only one day.

In 2018, during President Donald Trump's first term, he faced significant criticism over his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Ahmad Ghouri, an associate professor at the School of Law, Politics, and Sociology at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, told China Daily that from the perspective of international law, the US decision to provide passport services within the illegal settlement of Efrat in the occupied West Bank raises significant concerns.

"Israeli settlements in occupied territory are considered unlawful under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied land," said Ghouri.

"By extending official consular services to settlers, the US risks signaling implicit recognition of a situation created in violation of peremptory norms of international law, contradicting long-standing positions against annexation," he added.

NGOs' plea

Meanwhile, more than a dozen international humanitarian organizations have urged Israel's Supreme Court to block an imminent order that would force 37 nongovernmental organizations to cease operations in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, warning of catastrophic consequences for Palestinians.

On Dec 30, the affected organizations were notified that the Israeli registrations would expire unless they completed the full registration process and efforts to force closures could begin as early as Saturday.

In a joint statement published on Tuesday, the petitioners warned the effect would be "immediate, extending well beyond individual organizations to the wider humanitarian system".

"In Gaza, families remain dependent on external assistance amid continuing restrictions on aid entry and renewed strikes in densely populated areas. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, military incursions, demolitions, displacement, settlement expansion and settler violence are driving rising humanitarian needs," the statement said.

The Palestinian Authority registration provides the lawful basis for international NGOs to operate in Palestinian territory, the NGOs noted.

The move to shut down 37 humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem threatens to undermine Israel's obligations as an occupying power, according to Ghouri.

"International humanitarian law requires ensuring the welfare of protected populations, including facilitating humanitarian relief. Restricting NGO operations could exacerbate an already severe humanitarian crisis and may constitute a breach of duties under the Geneva Conventions. Together, these developments risk further eroding the legal foundations necessary for a credible peace process," he added.