Overview
- On February 8, Israel’s security cabinet approved measures to expand Israeli civilian authority in the occupied West Bank, including Areas A and B that have been under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction under the Oslo Accords.
- The package eases land purchases by Jewish Israelis, lifts confidentiality on land registries, and extends Israeli enforcement powers into areas previously administered by the Palestinian Authority.
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned the decisions would accelerate dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians, and said they strip PA planning powers in parts of Hebron including the Ibrahimi Mosque and shift administrative control over Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem.
- UN Secretary‑General António Guterres condemned the steps as illegal under international law, while the European Union and a group of Muslim‑majority states issued statements denouncing the measures and calling for reversal.
- Senior Israeli ministers described the changes as creating de facto sovereignty and ending prospects for a Palestinian state, as rights groups cautioned that opening land registries could hasten land loss for Palestinians and as opponents signaled potential legal and diplomatic pushback.