Palestinian Authority Warns Against Israel’s Platform Registering West Bank Lands Under Israeli System

Palestinian Authority Land Authority warned its citizens against dealing with an electronic platform launched by Israel on Wednesday to register West Bank lands under the Israeli system, calling it a "dangerous escalation" and accusing Israel of seeking to "entrench annexation and seize large swaths of Palestinian land."

“Since December 2025, Israeli authorities have adopted a set of illegal measures aimed at dispossessing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, of their land and making the annexation of the territory an irreversible reality, Amnesty International said on February 26, 2026”

Amnesty International

The Land Authority urged citizens to refer to it before undertaking land-related actions such as registering or titling, inventorying ownership, or updating real estate data, and before submitting any documents or information related to ownership.

Amnesty International

The step was described as part of a plan approved by the Israeli government in May 2025 to expand its authority in the West Bank and to bring lands there under its control, including a comprehensive land-regularization process and registration under the Israeli system.

Le Monde reported that the UN, along with several Arab countries and the European Union, condemned on Monday, February 16, Israel's adoption of new land measures that strengthen its control over the West Bank, and said the move fueled fears of annexation of Palestinian territory.

Le Monde added that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for Israel to "revert immediately" these measures, which it said were "not only destabilizing but, as the International Court of Justice recalled, illegal."

In another step toward effectively annexing the West Bank, the Israeli Knesset approved in its first reading on Tuesday evening a bill to establish the "Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority," presented by Knesset member Amit Halevi of the Likud party, with 23 members supporting and 14 opposing it.

The bill would transfer the West Bank's archaeology file from the Civil Administration under the Israeli army to an Israeli body affiliated with the Ministry of Heritage, with powers that could include confiscation and excavation and would not be limited to Area C.

Chronique de Palestine

The Palestinian Authority criticized the move through Hasan Brijiya, director of the International Law Department at the organization resisting the Wall and Settlements, who said the bill raises legal issues under the Fourth Geneva Convention and Hague regulations and that annexing occupied territories is prohibited.

Brijiya argued that expropriation of land and private property is only permitted for military necessity, and said "expropriation for administrative, heritage, or settlement purposes does not constitute military necessity."

The bill also drew warnings that it could become a process of annexation and de facto control over Palestinian lands, and the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities condemned it in a Facebook statement as another step in the occupation’s efforts to control cultural heritage sites.

Palestine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Minister Riyad Mansour, sent three identical letters on Monday to the UN Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council for this month (Colombia), and the President of the General Assembly warning of escalating Israeli measures aimed at entrenching annexation of Palestinian land and making it irreversible.

“"An unacceptable de facto annexation": about twenty countries, including France, condemn Israel's strategy in the occupied West Bank”

franceinfo

WAFA said Mansour pointed to Israel’s continued advancement of illegal construction plans in the E1 area, including plans approved last year to build 3,401 colonial units in the E1 area and tenders for their implementation, alongside a new segregation road that would deprive Palestinians of access to their homes and lands.

WAFA also said Mansour referred to an electronic system launched by Israel for “land registration and rights settlement” of Palestinian lands, and to Israeli decisions concerning archaeological and religious sites, including the seizure of lands surrounding the village of Nabi Samwil northwest of Jerusalem and plans for a military complex over the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.

In the same letters, Mansour addressed Gaza, saying nearly two million Palestinians remain displaced amid continued Israeli bombardment and the catastrophic humanitarian situation, and that the Israeli Prime Minister’s orders to expand Israeli control to include 70 per cent of the Strip were described as another step toward gradual annexation.

franceinfo reported that about twenty countries including France and Spain condemned Israel’s strategy in the occupied West Bank, writing that "These latest decisions are part of an evident strategy to change the situation on the ground and to pursue an unacceptable de facto annexation."