Palestine Warns Israeli West Bank Land Move Amounts to ‘De Facto Annexation’
The Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a stark warning on Sunday following the Israeli government’s approval of a plan to register land in the occupied West Bank as “state property.” The PA Presidency condemned the move as a “grave escalation” that amounts to “de facto annexation” of the territory, urging immediate intervention from the UN Security Council and the United States.
Deep Search: The Scale of the Registration Plan
The controversy centers on a decision approved by the Israeli cabinet on February 15, 2026, to initiate a land registration process in the West Bank for the first time since the 1967 occupation. The proposal, submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, authorizes the registration of vast swaths of land in Area C—which constitutes about 60% of the West Bank—as Israeli state land.
Unlike previous methods where land status was determined by military orders or specific declarations, this new process aims to systematically register land rights. According to the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, the move could effectively allow the state to classify up to 83% of Area C as government property if Palestinians cannot provide definitive proof of private ownership, a process made difficult by fragmented historic records.
Add Objections: Israel’s Rationale
Israeli officials argue the measure is a necessary administrative step to establish “legal certainty” and “transparency” in a region plagued by conflicting property claims. In a joint statement, Ministers Smotrich, Levin, and Katz asserted the plan is intended to “remove decades-old barriers” and repeal what they described as “discriminatory Jordanian legislation” that had previously restricted real estate transactions.
Supporters of the move within the Israeli government contend that the lack of a modern registry has hindered development. They claim the initiative will simply clarify who owns what, allowing for the “accelerated development of settlement” infrastructure and private Jewish land purchase, which they view as a correction of historic anomalies rather than a violation of international norms.
Add Background Info: Legal and Historical Context
The West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Six-Day War. Under international law, the territory is considered occupied, and the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into the territory it occupies.
The land registration system in the West Bank is a complex patchwork of Ottoman, British Mandate, and Jordanian laws. Following the 1967 occupation, Israel issued a military order freezing the “settlement of land title” process (a systematic registration of ownership). Lifting this freeze shifts the burden of proof onto Palestinian residents, many of whom rely on traditional, unregistered ownership passed down through generations.
The Palestinian Authority argues that this unilateral change violates the Oslo Accords signed in the 1990s, which designated Area C for gradual transfer to Palestinian jurisdiction—a process that never materialized. The PA specifically cited UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirms that Israeli settlement activity has “no legal validity,” as the framework being violated by this new administrative push.
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