Israel approves proposal to register West Bank lands as ‘state property’

The Israeli government has approved a plan to claim large areas of the West Bank as “state property” if Palestinians cannot prove ownership, prompting a regional outcry and accusations of “de-facto annexation”.

Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported on Sunday that the proposal was submitted by far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and Minister of Defence Israel Katz.

Smotrich said the move was a continuation of “the settlement revolution to control all our lands” while Levin called it an expression of the Israeli government’s commitment “to strengthening its grip on all its parts”.

The decision paves the way for the resumption of “settlement of land title” processes, which had been frozen since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967.

It means that when Israel begins the land registration process for a certain area, anyone with a claim to the land must submit documents proving ownership. But after decades of occupation, the bar to prove Palestinian ownership is extremely high and the move could dispossess thousands of Palestinians of rights to their lands.

The Palestinian presidency condemned the decision in a statement, calling it a “grave escalation and a flagrant violation of international law”, which amounts to “de-facto annexation”.

It called on the international community, especially the United States and the United Nations Security Council, to intervene immediately.

‘Null and void’

Hamas also denounced the Israeli move, calling it an attempt “to steal and Judaise lands in the occupied West Bank by registering them as so-called ‘state lands’”.

The group, which led the October 2023 attacks on southern Israel and fought against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, called the approval “a null and void decision issued by an illegitimate occupying power”.

“It is an attempt to forcibly impose settlement and Judaisation on the ground, in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions,” it added.

The Israeli decision is the latest step to deepen its control over the occupied West Bank. In recent months, Israel has greatly expanded construction in illegal settlements, legalised outposts and made significant bureaucratic changes to its policies in the territory to strengthen its hold and weaken the Palestinian Authority.

The move will apply to an area known as Area C in the occupied West Bank. It is one of three areas that the territory was divided into when the Oslo Accords were signed in the 1990s.

The area is under full Israeli military control.

More than 300,000 Palestinians are estimated to live in Area C, with many more in surrounding communities dependent on its agricultural and grazing lands.

Most Palestinian land there was not officially registered due to long and expansive legal processes, including requirements for decades-old documents that may have been lost or destroyed during times of wars or occupation.

Israel can now challenge ownership of lands it previously denied Palestinians access to.

The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said the process likely amounts to a “mega land grab” from Palestinians.

“This move is very dramatic and allows the state to gain control of almost all of Area C,” said Hagit Ofran, the director of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch programme.

“Palestinians will be sent to prove ownership in a way that they will never be able to do,” Ofran told The Associated Press news agency. “And this way Israel might take over 83 percent of the Area C, which is about half of the West Bank.”

The registration process could start as soon as this year, she said.

Regional outcry

Experts said the move also puts the Israeli government in blatant breach of international law, which states that an occupying power cannot confiscate or settle land in occupied territories.

Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst based in the occupied West Bank, described the move as de facto annexation of Palestinian territory, warning it will profoundly reshape the civil and legal landscape by eliminating what Israeli ministers have called longstanding “legal obstacles” to illegal settlement expansion.

Speaking from Ramallah, Abu Eid told Al Jazeera that Israel is “packing annexation” into “a bureaucratic move”.

“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 implementing their political programme: a policy that has already been presented,” he said.

The Israeli move was also denounced by regional countries.

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s decision “in the strongest terms”, describing it as a “flagrant violation of international law”.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denounced the move, saying it considered it “an extension of its illegal plans to deprive the Palestinian people of their rights”. In a statement, the ministry stressed the need for international solidarity to pressure Israel to halt the plan “to avoid its serious repercussions”.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that such actions constitute a “flagrant violation” of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as relevant UNSC resolutions, notably Resolution 2334 of 2016.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the move, saying it was aimed at imposing Israel’s authority over the occupied West Bank and expand settlement activities.

The ministry called the step “null and void”, stressing that Israel has no sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It added that the Israeli government’s expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank undermine ongoing peace efforts in the region and damage the prospects for a two state solution.

There was no immediate comment from the US.

Previous US administrations have sharply condemned an expansion of Israeli activity and control in the occupied West Bank, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a particularly close relationship with President Donald Trump.

The two met last week in Washington for their seventh meeting in the past year.

While Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, ‌his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The UN’s highest court meanwhile 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.