Israeli move to designate large parts of West Bank as state land condemned as ‘de facto annexation’
For the first time since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank, the Israeli government has announced a mechanism for officially registering significant areas of land as state property.
The Foreign Ministry described this initiative as an “administrative measure” intended to bring order to land registration; however, government officials, particularly from the far-right, indicated a clear intent to bolster settlements and consolidate Israel’s control over the region.
Finance Minister Bezalal Smotrich emphasized that this land registry is part of a broader settlement and governance movement, while Justice Minister Yariv Levin reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining its hold over the land.
This new measure will specifically apply to Area C of the West Bank, which constitutes approximately 60% of the territory, housing an estimated 180,000-300,000 Palestinians alongside at least 325,500 Israeli settlers, as reported by the human rights organization Btselem.
The Palestinian authority condemned the move as a violation of international law, characterizing it as de facto annexation aimed at cementing Israel’s occupation through illegal settlement expansion.
Since Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war, it has established Jewish settlements, which are deemed illegal under international law.
The UN also classifies the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories that Palestinians seek for a future state. The Israeli group Peace Now criticized the government’s decision as a significant land grab that contradicts the will of the Palestinian people and Israel’s own interests, warning that it could lead to the dispossession of thousands of Palestinians.
The implementation of this land registration policy poses daunting challenges for Palestinians needing to prove ownership, a process deemed near-impossible, with non-compliance resulting in automatic classification of their land as state property.
This announcement follows recent expansions in Israeli governance over the West Bank, which have amplified international backlash, denounced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the European Union as violations of international law and a regressive step in peace efforts.
