In a blockbuster move which could shake up various trends in the region, the government on Sunday reopened land registration in Area C of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced in a joint statement.
The move comes less than a week after Katz and Smotrich announced that several new policies would go into effect to streamline the acquisition of property by Jewish-Israelis of land in Area A and B of the West Bank.
Despite heavy criticism globally of that move, including from spokespeople from the Trump administration, the announcement on Sunday, coming just after Benjamin Netanyahu met with Donald Trump himself last week, seemed to indicate that the Prime Minister was confident that these moves, which are short of full annexation, will not be shot down by the US President.
Although the government statement alleged that this latest decision was a response to maneuvers by the Palestinian Authority to annex pieces of Area C of the West Bank, there have been no such recent public moves.
Rather, for many years both Israel and the PA have occasionally tried to make small extensions of existing villages to accommodate “natural growth,” and each side has objected to the other side’s extensions. Further, the PA has made various plans for future land use, but unlike Israel, 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 statement read, explaining that the proposal would allow the Justice Ministry’s Authority for Registration and Settlement of Land Rights to oversee settlements, and receive a “dedicated budget” allocated for this purpose.
The statement said that the new policy would further enable “a transparent and in-depth clarification of rights,” in order 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 give examples, the thrust of the new policy appeared to be designed to make it easier for the Israeli government, and eventually individuals, to acquire and settle land in Area C with less red tape.
Groups that are in favor of building in new parts of the West Bank have said that bureaucracy and long waiting periods for building for Jewish-Israelis have led to delays of new units being built for years.
“The renewal of settling land in the West Bank 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 stated.
Smotrich said that 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 the West Bank. Regulating settling land prevents disputes, creates legal certainty, blocks unilateral steps, and enables lawful and responsible development,” he added.
The PA condemned the Israeli decision, denouncing it as “a threat to security and stability and a flagrant violation of international resolutions.”
A statement released by 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 decision, 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 and registered in the ‘Palestinian taboo’ over one million and three hundred thousand dunams in the [West Bank] on its way to establishing a terrorist state,” the movement said in a statement.
“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.