Israel Launches Electronic Land Registry System in West Bank, Palestinian Authorities Condemn Annexation Push

Israel launched an electronic land registration system called the “Land Registry and Settlement of Rights” in the occupied Palestinian territories, with the move described by specialists as part of a legal and administrative annexation project in the West Bank, particularly Area C.

“Occupied East Jerusalem, Palestine – A controversial Israeli plan to digitally register property ownership in the occupied West Bank is a “dangerous colonial occupation step that represents a direct assault on the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people to their land and property”, the Palestinian Land Authority has said”

Al Jazeera

The project officially began on 15 February 2026 after powers related to land registration were transferred to the Israeli Justice Ministry and the Survey of Israel authority, and a budget of 244 million shekels (US$ 79 million) was allocated to it.

Al Jazeera

The plan aims to register nearly 58 per cent of land in Area C, equivalent to around 35 per cent of the occupied West Bank, excluding occupied East Jerusalem, as part of what Israel describes as a “settlement of property rights” process.

Palestinian authorities condemned the initiative as a “dangerous colonial occupation step that represents a direct assault on the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people to their land and property,” and they urged Palestinians to avoid any engagement with Israeli entities related to land and property.

In parallel, the Palestinian Land Authority and the Jerusalem Governorate framed the launch as part of a broader trajectory toward annexation, with the Jerusalem Governorate saying it aims to “complete the legal and administrative annexation of the occupied territories through fully registering the lands under Israeli authority.”

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate and the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC) urged Palestinians in the West Bank not to engage with any Israeli “entities, committees, platforms, or procedures” of lands and property.

Moayad Shaaban, head of the CRRC, said the initiative marks a shift from traditional control methods to “digital colonial engineering,” which he described as seeking to establish permanent legal realities in the occupied territories.

Asharq Al-Awsat English

Euronews reported that Palestinian institutions led by the Land Authority and the Wall and Settlements Resistance Authority announced their outright rejection of Israel's launch of an electronic platform to update and register land ownership, calling it a qualitative escalation in the trajectory of land control.

In the same coverage, Muayed Shaban described the system as a strategic shift in the tools of control, saying Israel is moving from its classic field pattern to a more complex and deeper technological, administrative, and legal management phase.

The Jerusalem Governorate also urged international bodies to intervene, calling for the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to “take their urgent responsibilities to stop these illegal procedures and hold the occupying state accountable.”

Palestinian officials warned that opening the land registry, known as the “tabu,” would allow Israeli settlers and organizations to identify Palestinian landowners directly and pressure them into selling property, thereby facilitating land acquisition.

“The Palestinian Authority for Resistance to the Wall and Settlements said that this system cannot be separated from a project aimed at reconfiguring the relationship with the land in the West Bank, by turning real control into an organized legal framework that makes any challenge or future change more difficult”

Euronews

Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the cabinet backed a proposal put forward by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, and it said the plan includes registering vast areas of the West Bank as “state land.”

The same report said the measure could strip the Palestinian Authority of its role in regulating land ownership, property transactions, and planning in Areas A and B, while granting Israeli authorities expanded inspection and demolition powers.

Al Jazeera also linked the land-registration push to the wider context of Israel’s war, saying rights groups noted an increase in settlement approvals and settler violence against Palestinian communities since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Euronews added that Palestinians view the steps as aimed at entrenching administrative and legal control over the West Bank and reshaping the facts on the ground, while calling on the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to intervene to halt the measures.