Israel Begins West Bank Land Registration, Declares 7000 Hectares State Land

Israel's Security Cabinet approved land registration in the West Bank for the first time since 1967.

“After a series of Israeli decisions aimed at increasing control over the occupied West Bank last week, the Israeli Security Cabinet decided on Sunday to begin a land registration process in the West Bank for the first time since 1967”

BBC

Finance Minister Smotrich called it a step to continue the settler revolution.

BBC

The move facilitates large-scale land seizures and accelerates settlement expansion.

Israel declared approximately 7,061 hectares of private Palestinian land as Israeli state land.

This is the single largest confiscation since the Oslo Accords.

Le Monde.fr

The area lies mostly in Area C, over which Israel exercises full control.

Eight Arab and Muslim foreign ministers condemned Israel's decision as a dangerous escalation.

“This came in response to the Israeli government’s Sunday approval of a decision allowing the seizure of Palestinian lands in the West Bank by registering them as state lands, for the first time since 1967, meaning that every land in Area C, as defined by the Oslo Accords, for which a Palestinian cannot prove ownership, would be registered in Israel’s name”

TRT Arabi

They cited violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and UNSC Resolution 2334.

Riyadh described it as an assault on the Palestinian people's rights.

The Palestinian presidency termed the move a de facto annexation.

Humanitarian organizations warned it paves the way for forced displacement of up to 142,000 Palestinians.

WAFA Agency

Human Rights Watch described the registration as a quasi-legal mechanism to entrench occupation.