Israel removes key legal barriers to West Bank settlement growth
The Israeli regime has taken steps to further entrench its de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank by removing long-standing restrictions on settlement expansion in the Palestinian territory.
A report published in The Cradle on Sunday said that the Israeli cabinet had approved a broad series of measures designed to accelerate settlement growth in the occupied West Bank and tighten Israeli control over the area.
The measures have been championed by two notorious Israeli cabinet ministers, namely finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and the regime’s war minister Israel Katz.
The two are known for their deep hatred of the Palestinians and their persistent efforts to undermine the rights of people in the occupied territories.
According to reports, the new policies will eliminate obstacles that have limited settlement growth for decades. They include lifting confidentiality rules on land registries and repealing a Jordanian-era law that prohibited land sales to Jews in the occupied West Bank. The decisions also reactivate a land acquisition committee, dormant for over 20 years, to facilitate large-scale purchases aimed at securing settlement land for future generations.
The measures also violate the 1997 Hebron Protocol, which grants planning and construction authority in Jewish settlement areas of Hebron, including around the Ibrahimi Mosque, to the Palestinian municipality. The new rules instead transfer this authority to the Israeli Civil Administration.
Additional decisions are expected to alter the status quo around Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, as well as in Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank, which are under Palestinian administrative control.
As a result, Israeli authorities could demolish Palestinian-owned buildings in Area A under the guise of protecting archaeological and heritage sites.
Israeli-controlled media said that Smotrich and Katz have promoted these measures to gain political support ahead of upcoming elections in the occupied territories.
Analysts say the changes to land ownership and purchasing procedures in the occupied West Bank will be legally difficult to undo, leading to a significant expansion of Israeli settlements in the territory.
Several Palestinians wounded in coordinated settler attacks across West Bank
Hamas leader rejects disarmament, foreign rule in Gaza
Israeli ban plunges Gaza critical lifeline into risk: MSF
VIDEO | Israeli regime harasses, tortures Gazans returning through Rafah crossing
Israel faces existential threat of internal collapse before centenary, general says
Police fire tear gas as protests erupt against ICE and Israel at Milan Winter Olympics
UK PM’s chief of staff resigns over appointment of Epstein associate as US envoy
Iran leads Islamic world in electric vehicle motor technology
VIDEO | Pakistan lawmakers reflect on legacy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution
VIDEO | Gaza children bear brunt of Israel genocidal war
Israel removes key legal barriers to West Bank settlement growth
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
