An Israeli soldier stands guard during the inauguration ceremony for the newly legalized Jewish settlement of Yatziv, near the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, in the West Bank. AP
In an official statement carried by Palestinian news agency WAFA, the Palestinian presidency in Ramallah warned that the measures' “deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank” undermine Palestinian rights under occupation. It described the changes, such as opening land registries and altering the planning authority, as illegal and a violation of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, as well as international law and UN resolutions.
“These decisions are null and void, granting no legitimacy and carrying no legal consequences,” the statement read, adding that they “represent a continuation of the comprehensive war waged by the Israeli government against our Palestinian people.”
The PA also condemned any attempt to interfere with religious sites, specifically the Ibrahimi Mosque (Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi) in Hebron, known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and Qabr Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb) near Bethlehem, calling such actions “completely rejected and unacceptable.” Israel was held responsible for “continuing assaults on holy sites, aiming to ignite tensions, especially with Ramadan approaching.”
The measures, announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, include lifting restrictions on land purchases by Jewish citizens in the West Bank. Smotrich argued the move would help “deepen our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel,” while Katz referred to strengthening “Judea and Samaria” as a “paramount security, national, and Zionist interest.”
Additionally, the decisions include transferring authority over building permits for settlements in parts of Palestinian cities, such as Hebron, from Palestinian municipal bodies to Israeli authorities. Under the new system, changes to construction in Jewish settlements will require Israeli approval only, rather than the joint approval of both local and Israeli authorities.
Israeli media also reported that the security cabinet approved measures granting settlers access to land ownership records and expanding Israeli enforcement powers in Areas A and B, which, under the Oslo Accords, are meant to fall under Palestinian civil control.
Palestinian legal and advocacy groups criticized these measures as a de facto annexation, arguing they facilitate settlement expansion, entrench Israeli control, and violate international humanitarian law. The Yesha Council, an Israeli settler organization, welcomed the moves, calling them among the most significant in decades for solidifying Israeli authority in the West Bank, a territory Palestinians seek for a future state.
The PA pointed out that the measures violate key peace frameworks, including the Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 by the PLO and Israel, and the 1997 Hebron Protocol, signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PLO leaders, which regulated phased Israeli troop redeployments in the city.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza since 1967. Despite withdrawing settlements from Gaza in 2005, the occupation continues with Israel maintaining control over Gaza’s borders, airspace, sea access, and population. This control has been reinforced by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, flattened much of the enclave, and destroyed its civilian infrastructure.
The PA’s denunciation comes amid broader Israeli political moves to entrench control over the West Bank. Members of Israel’s governing coalition have openly supported annexation, and in 2025, the Knesset advanced a bill to apply Israeli law to the territory. These steps have been widely condemned as a direct assault on Palestinian sovereignty.
The Palestinian statement called on the United States and the UN Security Council to intervene “to stop these dangerous decisions that threaten all international efforts aimed at calming the situation and halting escalation in the region.”
It concluded by reaffirming the PA’s commitment to defending Palestinian land and rights, saying, “Our people and legitimate leadership will continue to defend our land and rights, and the State of Palestine will be realized as a free, independent, and fully sovereign state encompassing Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem as its eternal capital.”
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