In brief
In a recent development, Israel's security cabinet has implemented measures that Palestinians and international observers view as de facto annexation of the West Bank. The changes include easing restrictions on land sales to Jewish settlers, increasing Israeli control over property law, and repealing regulations designed to protect Palestinian land rights. Palestinian leaders and several Arab nations strongly condemn these actions, calling for international intervention to halt what they see as the expansion of illegal settlements.
Palestinians, Arab countries, Israeli anti-occupation groups, and the UK have condemned new steps approved by Israel's security cabinet for the occupied West Bank, saying they amount to de facto annexation.Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the moves that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian land. 'We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,' he said.All settlements are seen as illegal under international law. The measures—expected to be signed off by Israel's top military commander for the West Bank—aim to increase Israeli control over the territory in terms of property law, planning, licensing, and enforcement.They were announced three days ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington. Last year saw settlements in the West Bank expand at their fastest rate since monitoring began, according to the UN.The new Israeli measures include cancelling a decades-old prohibition on the direct sale of West Bank land to Jews and declassifying local land registry records. Previously, settlers could only buy homes from registered companies on land controlled by Israel's government.Israeli ministers presented the change as 'a step that will increase transparency and facilitate land redemption'. Israel's foreign ministry later claimed it corrected a 'racist distortion' that discriminated against Jews and others regarding real estate purchases in Judea and Samaria.The cabinet also decided to repeal a legal requirement for a transaction permit to complete any purchase of real estate, reducing oversight meant to prevent fraud. Palestinians fear the changes will lead to increased pressure to sell, as well as acts of forgery and deceit.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the measures 'dangerous' and an 'open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion, land confiscation, and the demolition of Palestinian properties.' He urged the US and UN Security Council to intervene.The Israeli NGO Peace Now warned that the cabinet's decision could topple the Palestinian Authority and imposed de facto annexation. The UK government strongly condemned the move, calling it unacceptable.Foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar expressed that the announcement accelerated illegal annexation attempts and displacement of the Palestinian people, warning that Israeli expansionist policies fuel violence and conflict in the region.
