Israel approves registration of West Bank land as 'state property'
The Israeli government has approved the registration of large swathes of land in the occupied West Bank as “state property”, a measure widely seen as further entrenching de facto annexation of Palestinian territory.
The proposal, submitted by the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, the justice minister, Yariv Levin, and Israel Katz, the defence minister, was approved on Sunday.
The measure is expected to formalise Israeli control over extensive areas of Palestinian land, much of which has remained unregistered since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.
It would allow authorities to legalise the confiscation of unregistered, or so-called abandoned, land by reclassifying it as “state land”.
In 1968, Israeli authorities suspended a Jordanian-led land registration process, effectively preventing Palestinians from formally recording ownership of their property.
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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.
In a joint statement, Katz, Smotrich and Levin described the decision as “an appropriate response to illegal settlement measures being pushed by the Palestinian Authority in Area C in violation of the law and agreements”.
They said the measure “will allow for a transparent and in-depth examination of rights, end legal disputes, and enable the development of infrastructure and the organised marketing of land”.
Katz called the decision an “essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement and full freedom of action for the state of Israel in the area”.
“We are continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands,” Smotrich said.
'Dangerous escalation'
In comments carried by Wafa news agency, the Palestinian presidency condemned the move as a “dangerous escalation” amounting to “de facto annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory”.
The statement said the decision effectively nullifies existing agreements and violates a series of UN Security Council resolutions, particularly resolution 2334, which affirms the illegality of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
Hamas denounced the measure as an attempt “to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank” and described it as “null and void” by what it called an illegitimate occupying power.
The move was also condemned by several regional states, including Jordan, Qatar and Turkey.
The decision follows the approval last week of a raft of measures advanced by Smotrich and Katz aimed at facilitating Jewish Israeli ownership of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Critics say the steps could accelerate settlement expansion and further undermine the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The sweeping changes expand Israel's civil control in Areas A and B - where all major Palestinian cities and towns are located - which since the Oslo Accords have officially been under Palestinian Authority (PA) jurisdiction.
Smotrich said in a statement that the measures “fundamentally change the legal and civic reality" in the West Bank and "bury the idea of a Palestinian state".
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