In a controversial move, the Israeli security cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tighten Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and facilitate settlers' purchase of land. For its part, the Palestinian presidency rejected the Israeli decision, considering it “a de facto annexation of the occupied Palestinian land, and an announcement of the start of implementing plans to annex the Palestinian land with the aim of perpetuating the occupation through illegal settlement.”
Published on: 02/15/2026 - 21:35 Last updated: 02/16/2026 - 10:20
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In a move that the Palestinians described as “effective annexation,” the Israeli security cabinet agreed on Sunday to take further measures to tighten Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and facilitate settlers’ purchase of land.
The West Bank is one of the lands on which the Palestinians seek to establish an independent state in the future. Most of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian autonomy in some areas administered by the Western-backed authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers the establishment of a Palestinian state a security threat. He faces elections later this year.
His ruling coalition includes a number of pro-settlement members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, lands it seized in 1967.
Read also: Armed settlers demolish 15 homes in the West Bank, displacing Palestinian families
The ministers voted in favor of starting the land registration process in the West Bank for the first time since the 1967 war.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu's government, said, "We are continuing the settlement revolution and strengthening our control over all parts of our land."
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that land registration in the West Bank is a necessary security measure, while the Security Council of Ministers said in a statement that the decision is “an appropriate response to the illegal land registration operations promoted by the Palestinian Authority.”
For its part, the Palestinian presidency rejected the Israeli decision, considering it “a de facto annexation of the occupied Palestinian land, and an announcement of the start of implementing plans to annex the Palestinian land with the aim of perpetuating the occupation through illegal settlement.”
The Israeli movement Peace Now, which monitors settlements, said that this measure may strip the Palestinians of about half of their lands in the West Bank.
US President Donald Trump ruled out Israel's annexation of the West Bank, but his administration did not seek to curb the accelerating settlement construction.
The International Court of Justice, the UN's highest court, said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and the establishment of settlements on them are illegal and must be ended as soon as possible. Israel objects to this opinion.
France 24/Reuters
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