Israeli government approves resolution on de facto annexation of occupied West Bank
The Israeli government has approved a draft resolution to begin the process of settling and registering land in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.
“We are continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands,” said Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Israel Katz described it as an “essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for the State of Israel in the area”, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.
Last week, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved decisions pushed by both Smotrich and Katz which make it easier to seize Palestinian land illegally.
Experts have called it the de facto annexation of the West Bank and say it will fundamentally alter the civil and legal reality of the territory, removing what the Israeli ministers termed “legal obstacles” that have existed for decades against the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
‘Null and void’: Hamas slams Israeli move ‘to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank’
The group has condemned the government decision allowing Israel, what it called, “to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank by registering them as so-called ‘state lands'”.
The statement called the approval “a null and void decision issued by an illegitimate occupying power”, adding: “It is an attempt to forcibly impose settlement and Judaisation on the ground, in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions”.
Hamas called on the UN Security Council, and all relevant international parties “to assume their legal and political responsibilities and take immediate action to halt the occupation’s aggression and its ongoing violations against our Palestinian people”.
Earlier, the Israeli government approved the proposal to open the land registration process in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967.
Palestinian presidency slams Israeli plans in the occupied West Bank as ‘threat’ to security
The Palestinian presidency warns of serious consequences after the Israeli government approved a decision to declare areas in the occupied West Bank as state property, according to the Wafa news agency.
According to a statement by the presidency, the decision constituted a “direct threat to security and stability” and amounted to the de facto annexation of Palestinian territory and the entrenching of illegal settlement expansion.
The presidency added that the decision had nullified and contradicted signed agreements with the UN Security Council, particularly Resolution 2334, which stipulates that all Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal and violated international law.
The statement affirmed that the decision would not grant Israel any legitimacy over the State of Palestine and called on the international community, especially the UN and US, to intervene and force Israel to comply with international law to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.
Israel’s West Bank move means ‘more threats, intimidation from Israeli settlers’
Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst based in Ramallah, said the “land registration” announcement by Israel is “packing annexation into some sort of bureaucratic move”.
He told Al Jazeera the International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 what the Israelis are doing is a clear sign of annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“People should understand this is not just a step towards annexation, we are experiencing annexation as we speak today. What the Israeli government is doing is implanting their political programme – a policy that has already been presented,” said Abu Eid.
Palestinian landowners are now going to face “more threats and intimidation from Israeli settlers supported by the Israeli government”, he added.
