A boy rides his bicycle past ruins at the archaeological site of Sebastia, west of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. AFP
“The decision means, among other things, the registration of extensive areas in the West Bank that belong to the state in the name of the state,” the statement said.
Extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the move was aimed at preventing what he described as unilateral steps and at consolidating Israeli control over the territory. “We will be responsible for our land and will continue the settlement revolution in the West Bank,” he said.
Land registration procedures have not been carried out in the West Bank since the 1967 war. Israeli media reported that the decision would allow large swaths of land to be registered as Israeli state property unless private ownership can be proven.
The move would enable the government to sell such land to settlers and transfer ownership to the Israeli military and other state bodies, steps that were not previously available, according to an analysis by Al Jazeera.
The decision comes amid a series of measures by Israel aimed at deepening the plan for the illegal annexation of the West Bank, drawing broad regional and international outrage.
On 8 February, Israel’s security cabinet approved additional measures designed to strengthen control over the territory and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.
The steps include cancelling 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 decision would also revive a committee that would allow Israel to make “proactive” land purchases in the territory — “a step intended to guarantee land reserves for settlement for generations to come.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Israel’s plans for the West Bank pave the way for further settlement expansion and amount to steps toward illegal annexation.
“This is yet another step by the Israeli authorities towards rendering a viable Palestinian state impossible, in violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” Volker Türk said in a statement.
He warned that implementation would accelerate the dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians and lead to the expansion of illegal settlements.
Arab and Muslim foreign ministers strongly condemned the measures, calling them illegal and void under international law and warning that they represent accelerated annexation.
Moreover, Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said the decision was aimed at “breaking through every possible barrier on the way to a massive land grab in the West Bank.” The group noted that authorities could also demolish construction in Palestinian-controlled areas if deemed harmful to heritage or the environment.
The West Bank is divided between an Israeli-controlled section where settlements are located and sections equaling 40 percent of the territory where the Palestinian Authority has autonomy.
Palestinians are not permitted to sell land privately to Israelis. Settlers can buy homes on land controlled by Israel’s government.
Yonatan Mizrachi, a researcher in Peace Now, said the entire system in the West Bank discriminates against Palestinians, who face Israeli military crackdowns and travel restrictions.
More than 700,000 Israelis illegally live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel in 1967. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
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