Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Feb 9: Israel’s security cabinet has approved a series of measures that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to buy land in the occupied West Bank while expanding enforcement powers of Israeli authorities over Palestinians, according to Israeli media reports.
The West Bank is among the territories claimed by Palestinians for a future independent state. Large parts of the region remain under Israeli military control, with limited self-rule exercised by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in certain areas.
Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news outlets Ynet and Haaretz reported that the measures include scrapping decades-old regulations that restrict Jewish private citizens from purchasing land in the West Bank. The steps are also said to allow Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA control, including cases related to environmental hazards, water violations and damage to archaeological sites.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas strongly criticised the decision, calling the measures dangerous and illegal, and warning that they amount to a de-facto annexation of the occupied territory. He urged the United States and the United Nations Security Council to intervene.
The Israeli ministers involved did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The developments come just days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington.
While Trump has previously ruled out formal Israeli annexation of the West Bank, his administration has not moved to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement expansion, which Palestinians argue is eroding the territorial basis of a future state. Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has repeatedly said that the creation of a Palestinian state poses a security threat to Israel.
His ruling coalition includes several pro-settler parties that advocate annexing the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and claimed by Israel on biblical and historical grounds. In 2024, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlement activity there are illegal and should end, a view rejected by Israel.