AhlulBayt News Agency: The Israeli regime has taken new steps to deepen its de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank by removing long‑standing restrictions on settlement expansion in the Palestinian territory.
A report published by The Cradle on Sunday said the Israeli cabinet approved a wide set of measures aimed at accelerating settlement growth and tightening Israeli control over the occupied West Bank.
These measures have been pushed forward by two hardline Israeli ministers—Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and War Minister Israel Katz—both known for their hostility toward Palestinians and efforts to undermine their rights.
According to reports, the new policies will remove barriers that have limited settlement expansion for decades. They include lifting confidentiality rules on land registries and repealing a Jordanian‑era law that banned land sales to Jews in the occupied West Bank. The decisions also reactivate a land acquisition committee, dormant for over 20 years, to facilitate large‑scale land purchases for future settlement expansion.
The measures also violate the 1997 Hebron Protocol, which grants planning and construction authority in Jewish settlement areas of Hebron—including around the Ibrahimi Mosque—to the Palestinian municipality. Under the new rules, this authority is transferred to the Israeli Civil Administration.
Additional decisions are expected to alter the status quo around Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, as well as in Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank, which are supposed to remain under Palestinian administrative control.
As a result, Israeli authorities may demolish Palestinian‑owned buildings in Area A under the pretext of protecting archaeological or heritage sites.
Israeli media reported that Smotrich and Katz are promoting these measures to gain political support ahead of upcoming elections in the occupied territories.
Analysts say the changes to land ownership and purchasing procedures will be extremely difficult to reverse, paving the way for significant expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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