JERUSALEM – The Palestinian President’s Office and Hamas have condemned Israel’s decision to proceed with the registration of the occupied West Bank as state land, calling it a serious escalation amounting to “de facto annexation.”
In a statement, the Palestinian president’s office warned that the move was a “declaration of an annexation plan aimed at consolidating the occupation through illegal settlement activities.”
He called on the international community, particularly the United States and the United Nations Security Council, to intervene immediately.
For the first time since Israel occupied the territory in 1967, the Zionist regime plans to create a mechanism to formally register large tracts of land as a state. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the move a grave violation of international law and the European Union said it was a “step in the wrong direction”.
Israel’s move was part of a series of measures approved by the Security Cabinet last week aimed at expanding illegal settlement construction and tightening Tel Aviv’s control over the West Bank.
According to Israeli media, the measures include repealing a law prohibiting the sale of West Bank land to illegal Israeli settlers, unsealing land ownership records, and transferring authority for building permits in settlement areas near Hebron from Palestinian municipalities to the Israeli Civil Administration.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry defended the move as an “administrative measure” that “brings order” to land registration. But government ministers have made it clear that the aim is to increase Israeli settlements and strengthen Israel’s control over the land.
Hamas condemned Israel’s move, calling it an attempt to “steal Jewish land by registering occupied West Bank land as so-called ‘state land’.”
The organization, which led the October 2023 offensive into southern Israel and fought Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, called the recognition an “invalid decision taken by an illegal occupying power.”
“This is a gross violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions, and an attempt to force local settlement and Judaization,” it added.
Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now called the government’s move “a large-scale land grab in the West Bank…completely against the will of the people and against Israel’s best interests.”
The Israeli government approved the move despite US President Donald Trump’s opposition to the annexation of the West Bank.
“We warn President Trump: Prime Minister Netanyahu is deceiving you! You said you would not recognize annexation, but he is carrying out annexation right under your nose,” Peace Now said, adding that the move would lead to thousands of Palestinians being dispossessed of their land.
“This process requires landowners to prove ownership in a way that is nearly impossible for most Palestinians. If they cannot prove it, the land will be automatically registered as state land,” Peace Now argued.
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Turkey on Sunday strongly condemned Israel’s new decision on land registration in the occupied West Bank, calling it a violation of international law.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move was aimed at “imposing Israeli authority over the occupied West Bank and expanding its settlement activities.”
“This step, which seeks to forcibly expel the Palestinian people from their land and accelerate Israel’s illegal annexation efforts, is a clear violation of international law and is invalid,” the ministry said.
The ministry also said that “Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories” and that the expansionist policies pursued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government were undermining peace efforts and damaging prospects for a two-state solution.
The Turkish government called on the international community to take a firm stance against Israel’s attempts to fabricate facts on the ground.
The ministry said Turkey continues to support efforts to establish an “independent, sovereign and contiguous” Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Israeli government’s new measures apply to so-called Area C in the West Bank, where the settler population is at least 325,500 and occupies about 60% of the territory, according to Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
Under the Oslo II agreement signed in 1995, Area A is under full Palestinian control, Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, and the crematorium area is under full Israeli control.
The Oslo II Accords limit land registration by the Palestinian Authority to Areas A and B, and prohibit it from Area C.
It is estimated that more than 300,000 Palestinians live in Area C, with many more living in surrounding communities that depend on its agricultural land and pasture.
Most of the Palestinian land there had not been officially registered due to a long and extensive legal process, including requirements for decades-old documents that may have been lost or destroyed during war or occupation.
Israel will now be able to contest ownership of land it has previously denied Palestinians access to.
Israel began military operations in Gaza on October 8, 2023, and has since stepped up its operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestinians see the escalation in killings, arrests, forced displacement and settlement expansion as a step toward formal annexation of the territory.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for its eviction from all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. — Agency
