Ramallah: The Israeli government's recent approval to register expansive areas of the West Bank as 'state property' has been declared legally null and void by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. The ministry has warned that this move is strategically aimed at advancing annexation and expanding settlements in the region.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry expressed its condemnation of the decision through a statement on the US social media platform X. The ministry strongly opposed any efforts to transform the lands of the occupied West Bank into state property under Israeli control, warning that such actions could legitimize settlement expansion and land annexation, ultimately threatening the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The ministry's statement labeled the Israeli government's decision as a direct challenge to international legal norms and the collective will of the global community. It highlighted that the decision contradicts United Nations resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirms the illegality of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The International Court of Justice's advisory opinion, which deemed Israel's occupation unlawful, was also cited.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called upon the international community, the UN Security Council, and other legal bodies to take a firm stand against these unilateral actions. The statement urged urgent measures to halt annexation and settlement policies, which it claimed jeopardize the two-state solution, international consensus, and regional security.
On the same day, the Israeli government approved the proposal to designate large parts of the occupied West Bank as 'state property,' marking the first such measure since the territory's occupation in 1967. Under the Oslo II Accord of 1995, different areas of the West Bank are subjected to varying degrees of Palestinian and Israeli control, with Area C remaining under full Israeli jurisdiction.
The decision is part of a broader series of measures ratified by Israel's Security Cabinet, aimed at bolstering settlement building and enhancing Israeli control over the West Bank. Israeli media reports indicate these measures include repealing a law that restricted land sales to Israeli settlers, unsealing land ownership records, and transferring building permit authority near Hebron from a Palestinian municipality to Israeli control.
Since launching its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023, Israel has escalated its activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which Palestinians perceive as a step towards formal annexation. A landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice in July 2024 declared Israel's occupation illegal and called for the evacuation of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.