Israel’s cabinet has endorsed new policies aimed at increasing Israeli control over the West Bank, facilitating settlers’ land purchases. Palestinians have criticized these actions, describing them as steps toward a ‘de facto annexation.’

The West Bank is one of the regions Palestinians envision as part of their prospective independent state.

Currently, much of the West Bank falls under Israeli military jurisdiction, with certain areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, which has support from the West.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is preparing for an upcoming election, considers a Palestinian state a potential security risk.

His government, which includes several pro-settler advocates, supports annexing the West Bank—a territory seized during the 1967 Middle East conflict, with Israel claiming both biblical and historical rights to the land.

The ministers have agreed to initiate a land registration process, marking the first such effort since 1967.

“We are continuing the revolution of settlement and strengthening our hold across all parts of our land,” said finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s government.

Defence minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of ⁠action for Israel in the area to protect ‌its citizens and safeguard national interests.

The cabinet said in a statement that registration was an “appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted ‌by the Palestinian Authority” and would end disputes.

The PA presidency rejected the cabinet’s decision, saying it constitutes “a de facto annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and a declaration of the commencement of annexation plans aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement activity”.

US President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, but his administration hasn’t sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement ‌building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

The UN’s highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be ended as soon as possible.

The land registration adds to a series of measures taken earlier this ⁠month to expand control.

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