The UN, like several Arab countries and the European Union, condemned on Tuesday the adoption by Israel of new land measures strengthening the control of the Jewish state over the West Bank. A decision which makes the international community, and associations opposed to colonization, fear a sharp reduction in the geographical space in which the Palestinians live.

Published on: 02/19/2026 - 11:23

“A de facto annexation”. This is how its opponents describe the series of Israeli measures aimed at “radically” modifying the procedures for land registration and acquisition of real estate in the occupied West Bank. Announced on February 8 by the Israeli security cabinet, they aroused the ire of the international community. Senior UN official Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, also warned against a “progressive de facto annexation” of the West Bank by Israel.

The program – presented by Defense Minister Israel Katz and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – notably authorizes Israelis to directly purchase land in the occupied West Bank, and strengthens Israeli control over areas of the territory where the Palestinian Authority nevertheless exercises its authority (areas A and B).

Also read: Israel: Smotrich wants to bury “the idea of ​​a Palestinian state”

According to the Israeli daily The Times of Israel, in addition to the initial budget of 244 million shekels (66 million euros) for the next four years, 35 new positions will be created at the Ministry of Justice, the mapping agency Survey of Israel, the Ministry of Defense and its Civil Administration department in order to carry out this work.

It was not specified when these new rules would come into force, but because they are authorized by Israel's security cabinet, they do not require additional approval.

Major decisions

Under legal provisions inherited from Jordan's administration of West Bank territory, only residents of the occupied West Bank, or companies registered there, could acquire land. The Israelis did not have the possibility, unless they went through specific administrative procedures. These restrictions have been lifted.

Access to land registers, previously confidential, will be opened to the public, facilitating the identification of owners and purchases of Palestinian land.

The confidentiality was intended to prevent forgery and fraud in real estate transactions, to protect property abandoned by Palestinians who left the occupied West Bank, and to protect the lives of Palestinians who sold land to Israelis. In a situation of territorial conflict, selling land to the enemy is considered an act of treason, and the Palestinian Authority has a law prohibiting the sale of land to Israelis, punishable by death.

But this confidentiality hindered the settlers' plans to seize land in order to establish colonies.

Any real estate acquisition has until now been conditional on obtaining a transaction permit, in order to prevent falsifications and curb real estate initiatives contrary to the policy of the Israeli government. A thorough review was then carried out, and each permit was approved, or not, by the Minister of Defense.

To seeIn pictures: the intensification of colonization in the occupied West Bank

The Israeli authorities will now be able to extend their control in zones A and B [zone A was until now placed under total Palestinian control, and zone B under Palestinian civil and Israeli security control], as well as over the Hebron site.

“According to the information published regarding the cabinet decision, law enforcement will intervene in zones A and B for the protection of heritage and archaeological sites, the management of environmental risks and water-related offenses,” specifies the Israeli NGO Peace Now, opposed to colonization. “In other words, the Israeli authorities will be able to demolish Palestinian constructions in areas A and B if, in their opinion, they harm heritage or archaeology, or if they harm the environment or water resources.”

“Also in the field of heritage and archeology, the risk of harm to development and Palestinian property is considerable,” continues the NGO, referring to the ancient sites abounding in the occupied West Bank, particularly in inhabited areas.

“Colonization 2030”

“I consider these decisions as a new step towards the normalization of living conditions and the removal of discrimination and obstacles that have accumulated over the years,” justified Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in a post X detailing the main measures approved.

These changes aim to “deepen [our] roots in all regions of the Land of Israel,” declared the Israeli Minister of Finance. Also Minister Delegate for Defense, the latter counts among his prerogatives that of reinforcing the ban on new Palestinian constructions in "zone C" [administrative division entirely under Israeli control and representing more than 60% of the occupied West Bank], and of ensuring the legalization of hundreds of colonies built without government authorization.

“We are strengthening our hold on the ground and putting an end to the idea of ​​creating an Arab terrorist state in the heart of the country” Bezalel Smotrich, February 8, 2026

Himself a settler and supporter of an annexation of the occupied West Bank, he applauded measures last August to “bury the idea of ​​a Palestinian state”.

Tuesday, during a meeting of his party – the Religious Zionist Party, also nicknamed Mafdal – in an Israeli settlement near Ramallah with several leaders of localities in the occupied West Bank, Bezalel Smotrich detailed his program, called “Colonization 2030”, for the next legislative elections. They should, according to The Times of Israel, be held no later than October 2026.

"We will officially and concretely cancel the cursed Oslo Accords of the 1990s and we will embark on the path to sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from Gaza as well as from 'Judea and Samaria' [the biblical name for the West Bank, Editor's note]", explained the minister, who sits on the Israeli security cabinet, responsible for making key decisions concerning the West Bank, adding: "There is no other solution in the long term."

A report to readIn the occupied West Bank, settlers want to make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible

On A message ending with an eloquent emoji depicting a small construction crane.

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Israeli organizations Peace Now and Yesh Din, which campaign against the pro-settlement movement, denounced the decision, saying it was a new step in the de facto annexation of the West Bank occupied by Israel.

Also read: Palestine: chronology of a state in search of recognition

“The Israeli government is methodically implementing a strategy aimed at realizing its political vision of applying full Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, while establishing a reality of Jewish supremacy and forcing Palestinians living in the region to confine themselves to as restricted a geographical space as possible,” denounces the Yesh Din organization.

Also read: France and thirteen other countries call on Israel to stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank

While more than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank among three million Palestinians, in settlements deemed illegal under international law, the number of approved settlements has exploded under the current government of Benjamin Netanyahu with a record figure of 52 in 2025, according to the NGO Peace Now.

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