Israel reopens process for registering West Bank land for first time since 1967

​Jerusalem, Feb. 15 (EFE) – The Israeli government approved on Sunday the reopening of the land registration process in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967, which will allow the Israeli state to register land in the Palestinian territory in a binding and definitive manner, according to a statement released to EFE by the Ministry of Justice.​

The Justice Ministry specified in the statement that the process will be applied in Area C of the West Bank, which is under Israeli administrative and military control (covering 60% of the enclave).

​Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that the proposal was submitted by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

​“We are continuing the settlement revolution to control all our lands,” Smotrich said.

​The division into zones, established in the Oslo Accords, also stipulated an Area A under Palestinian administrative and military control (18% of the territory) and an Area B, under Palestinian administration and Israeli security control (22%).

​Israel occupied the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967. As a result, the Israeli military attorney general at the time issued an order to immediately suspend these ownership processes in that Palestinian territory, as they contravene international law, given that Israel is an occupying power.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Palestinian Presidency strongly criticized the Israeli government’s decision, labeling it a «serious escalation.»

They asserted that the Israeli action effectively voids existing signed agreements and is a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Katz described the move as an “essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement, and full freedom of action for the State of Israel in the area.

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