Explained: The Israeli measures imposing de facto annexation in the West Bank
Israel has introduced sweeping measures in recent days that will reshape reality for millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The illegal changes are the first of their kind since Israel occupied the territory in the 1967 war.
They overhaul governance in the West Bank, expanding Israel’s civilian authority in areas it has ruled under military law for nearly six decades.
In practice, the steps extend what officials describe as Israeli “sovereignty” over the territory - a long-standing goal of right-wing and ultra-nationalist settler movements.
Critics say these moves impose de facto annexation, even without a formal declaration.
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They also further weaken the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank and dismantle the Oslo Accords framework.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who spearheaded the changes, pledged as some were announced to “continue to bury the Palestinian state”.
Middle East Eye breaks down the new measures and how they upend the decades-old status quo.
Expansion of civil control
A set of radical changes were announced on 8 February by the Israeli cabinet.
One key change concerns Areas A and B, which cover roughly 40 percent of the West Bank and include all major Palestinian cities and towns.
Under the Oslo Accords, signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation in 1993 and 1995, Areas A and B were placed under full Palestinian civil control, while Israel retained authority over Area C, which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank and contains most Israeli settlements.
Previously, Israeli authorities demolished Palestinian homes in Area C over alleged building violations but were restricted in Areas A and B, except during raids justified on “security” grounds.
The new changes now allow Israel to make and enforce decisions on civilian matters in Areas A and B, directly undermining Palestinian Authority control.
This would be done under the pretext of protecting heritage and archaeological sites, preventing harm to the environment or water resources.
For example, Israeli forces would now be able to demolish homes, wells or other structures in the heart of Ramallah or Nablus if they are deemed harmful to heritage, the environment or water resources.
Peace Now, an anti-settlement Israeli group, said the definitions have “very broad interpretive potential”.
Israel would also be able to have more authority in conducting excavations, purchasing land and declaring sites as archaeological under the guise of protecting heritage sites
Analysts say this would effectively end the Oslo Accords framework.
Land seizures
Another major change makes it easier for Israel to seize land en masse and for settlers to privately own property in the West Bank.
This is done by scrapping a Jordan rule-era law that prevented the sale of land to non-resident Palestinians.
The government has also declassified land registries in the West Bank, which were previously protected to prevent forgery - a tactic often used by settlers - particularly for properties owned by Palestinians who have left the territory.
Key regulations that once governed land transactions to prevent fraud have also been removed, making it far easier for settlers to purchase land.
Days after these decisions, the Israeli government also approved a measure allowing it to register large swathes of West Bank land as “state property".
This would effectively legalise the confiscation of unregistered or “abandoned” land by reclassifying it.
Under international law, an occupying power is prohibited from undertaking land registration in occupied territory. Because of its irreversible nature, the process is widely viewed as a tool for asserting sovereignty over land under occupation.
Transfer of control in Hebron
One sensitive city specifically targeted by the Israeli changes is Hebron.
The new measures transfer building permits and construction approvals in the city from the PA to the Israeli military.
Hebron, home to roughly 200,000 Palestinians and 700 Israeli settlers, has been a focal point of settlement activity for decades. It is also the only Palestinian city outside East Jerusalem where settlers live within the urban centre.
Following a 1994 massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque by an Israeli settler, the city was divided under the Hebron Protocol: H1, covering 80 percent of the city, is under Palestinian control; H2, covering 20 percent, is under Israeli military control.
Previously, all building permits in the city were issued by the PA. The transfer now allows Israel to authorise construction and changes in Hebron’s Old City, including at the Ibrahimi Mosque, without PA involvement.
The measure is highly controversial, as it could enable settlement expansion within the city and changes to a site sacred to Muslims, potentially triggering widespread backlash.
Israel boundary expanded
Nearly a week after announcing the sweeping measures, Israel approved another step entrenching de facto annexation.
On Monday, the government advanced plans for a new settlement that would effectively expand Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries into the occupied West Bank.
If implemented, it would be the first formal expansion of Israel’s boundaries into the West Bank since the 1967 occupation.
Israel has never formally defined its borders with the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon or Syria.
The plan targets the illegal settlement of Adam, also known as Geva Binyamin, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem.
Presented as a “new neighbourhood” of Adam, the project would have no physical connection to the existing settlement, Israeli media report.
Instead, it would extend Jerusalem’s municipal boundary, which Israel annexed in 1980 - a move never recognised internationally.
The expansion is the latest in a series of steps described by Israeli outlet Yedioth Ahronoth as “blurring the boundaries of the Green Line”, the 1949 armistice line separating Israel from the West Bank and Gaza.
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