According to a report by The New Arab, the cabinet had already ratified new measures on 8 February extending Israeli administrative, legal, and enforcement authority across large areas of the West Bank currently under Palestinian Authority (PA) administration. Together, these decisions consolidate Israeli control by expanding settlement authority and transferring planning and enforcement powers from Palestinian municipalities to Israeli bodies.
Easing Land Seizure for Settlers
The changes would ease land acquisition for Jewish settlers by lifting long-standing restrictions on purchasing Palestinian-owned land and declassifying local land records. This would allow settlers to seize or buy property beyond Area C — which already constitutes 60% of the West Bank — and into Areas A and B, which are under partial or full PA civilian control under the Oslo Accords.
Under the new arrangements, planning, building permits, and construction in the Old City of Hebron and areas near Bethlehem will be authorized through Israeli military and settler-linked bodies. The legal changes will also make it easier for Israel to demolish homes in areas under PA jurisdiction and tighten control over sensitive cultural and religious sites, including Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem.
Officials Declare "De Facto Sovereignty"
Senior Israeli officials have been remarkably candid about the intent behind these measures. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz stated openly that the steps aim to annex the West Bank and "continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state." Energy Minister Eli Cohen described the moves as "de facto sovereignty" over occupied Palestinian lands.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing elections later this year, has long rejected the establishment of any Palestinian state, framing it as a security threat.
"Israel is openly rejecting a two-state solution, offering instead either genocide, like in Gaza, or an apartheid regime to cement its colonial settlement enterprise," Palestinian political analyst Xavier Abu Eid said, highlighting broad consensus among Israeli political parties against an internationally endorsed two-state solution.
International Condemnation Without Consequence
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation, settlement expansion, land confiscation, and exploitation of Palestinian resources illegal. UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that Israel's latest actions would fast-track Palestinian dispossession, fuel settlement construction, and further strip Palestinians of resources and rights.
Yet despite worldwide condemnation and UN calls for reversal, no meaningful international sanctions or corrective actions have followed.
Over 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — territories captured in 1967 and claimed by Palestinians for a future state. Settlement construction, considered illegal under international law, has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations.
"This is full-fledged annexation. The reality is already here; no one can claim they didn't know what was happening," Abu Eid warned.