In a blockbuster move that could shake up the region, the government reopened land registration in Area C of the West Bank for the first time since 1967.
The move, announced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday, comes less than a week after Katz and Smotrich stated that several new policies would go into effect to streamline the acquisition of property by Jewish Israelis in areas A and B.
Despite heavy criticism on a global scale, including from the Trump administration, these new moves, which fall short of full annexation, seem to indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confident they will not be shot down by the US president.
This is particularly so given that all this comes right after Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump last week.
Although the government statement said this latest decision was a response to maneuvers by the Palestinian Authority to annex sections of Area C, no such recent public moves have been recorded.
Rather, for many years, both Israel and the PA have occasionally tried to add small extensions to existing villages to accommodate “natural growth.” Meanwhile, each side has objected to the other side’s extensions. Further, the PA has made various plans for future land use, but unlike Israel, it does not have the capacity to enforce its plans.
“The decision means... the registration of extensive areas in the West Bank that belong to the state in the name of the state,” the ministers’ announcement read, adding that the proposal would allow the Justice Ministry’s Land Registry and Settlement of Rights to oversee settlements, and receive a “dedicated budget” allocated for this purpose.
Per the statement, the new policy would further enable “a transparent and in-depth clarification of rights” to end legal disputes and facilitate the proper development of infrastructure and market land.
Designed to make it easy for Israel to settle
While the statement did not provide examples, the thrust of the new policy appeared to be designed to make it easier for the government, and eventually individuals, to acquire and settle land in Area C with less red tape.
Groups that are in favor of developing new parts of the West Bank have said that bureaucracy and long waiting periods for Jewish Israelis to do so have led to years-long delays in new units being built.
“The renewal of settling land in Judea and Samaria is an essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for the State of Israel in the area,” Katz said.
Smotrich said Israel was “continuing the revolution of settlement and strengthening our hold across all parts of our land.
“For the first time since the Six Day War, we are restoring order and governance in the management of land in Judea and Samaria. Regulating settling land prevents disputes, creates legal certainty, blocks unilateral steps, and enables lawful and responsible development,” he added.
The PA condemned the decision, denouncing it as “a threat to security and stability and a flagrant violation of international resolutions.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas warned that “it is a dangerous escalation,” and called the step an “actual annexation of occupied Palestinian land.”
'An important decision'
The Regavim movement celebrated the move, noting that it is “an important decision that makes it clear to our enemy that there is a homeowner for the nation’s lands.”
“Under the auspices of the vacuum on the part of Israel, the Palestinian Authority began registering illegal land with the assistance of foreign governments, registering in the ‘Palestinian land registry’ over 1,300,000 dunams in the [West Bank] on its way to establishing a terrorist state,” the movement said. “We welcome the important Zionist decision that makes it clear to terrorists that there is a homeowner for the nation’s lands and ensures the continued future and security of the State of Israel.”
The Palestinian presidency called on the UN Security Council and the US administration to intervene immediately to halt “the dangerous Israeli measures and compel Israel to comply with international law.”
Dana Ben Shimon contributed to this report.