The Israeli government on Sunday approved a proposal to resume the process of land registration in Judea and Samaria for the first time since the 1967 Six-Day War.
The agenda item was introduced to the Cabinet by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The Regavim movement, an NGO dedicated to the protection of Israel’s national lands, applauded the move.
“Restarting the survey and registration process means Israel will now formally map and record ownership under its current administrative system, without any change to the political status of the territory in question,” said Naomi Kahn, director of Regavim’s International Division.
The move does not constitute “creeping annexation” or a “backdoor declaration of sovereignty,” she said. Rather, it is a technical, administrative step to clarify and register property ownership, with no direct political impact. This is because the Cabinet instructed the Israel Defense Forces, which administers Judea and Samaria, to request that the Justice Ministry register the land claims.
This is essentially the same mechanism Israel has been using since 1967 in applying civil law to Israelis living throughout Judea and Samaria.
In practical terms, Kahn said the ruling will result in clear determination of ownership—for both Arabs and Jews—that will create legally binding property boundaries for individuals and for publicly owned land.
It will not only protect the rights of individual owners, she said, but also the rights of the State of Israel and its citizens.
“Full land registration will prevent illegal annexation of public land, and bring to a close the decades-long era of endless legal challenges to Jewish homes and communities built in good faith and in accordance with the law,” said Kahn.
After the Six-Day War, Israel froze land registration, previously managed by Jordan, citing unreliable records, thus avoiding permanent legal changes in territory it had not formally annexed.
Yesterday’s government decision shows that the mentality in Israel has finally changed, said Kahn.
“This is probably the most important step taken by the Israeli government since June 1967—and the most overdue,” she said. “The most basic requirement for any government—whether it be a caretaker or a fully recognized sovereign—is to establish clear and transparent ownership of land.”
Officially registered land will now acquire permanent legal status, she said.
Therefore, she added, nightmare scenarios in which government-approved neighborhoods were dismantled due to post-facto legal challenges to land ownership will be a thing of the past.
“As every American will tell you, ‘good fences make good neighbors,’” she said. “Clear legal registration will bring stability and normalcy, preclude the weaponization of the legal process that seeks to prevent Jews from returning to their ancestral lands, and will prevent the conflicts that have plagued the region for decades.”
Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, called the decision historic, saying it was one he had been waiting for decades.
The ramifications are clear, he said: “The State of Israel is beginning to register the land in an orderly manner in the Land Registry ... safeguarding its strategic assets, and stopping the Arab takeover on the ground.”
The move delivers historical justice to landowners and will help regulate the State of Israel’s land reserves, he added.
Instead of hidden registries in the Civil Administration, all registrations will be open to the public, as everywhere else in the State of Israel, he noted.
“This move is the most effective response to blocking the Palestinian Authority’s takeover attempts and will put an end to lawlessness: From now on, an Arab claiming ownership of land will have to prove it with evidence, and situations of unsubstantiated ownership claims will no longer be possible,” said Ganz.
The Sovereignty Movement, led by Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover, told JNS the decision was a giant step in advancing the full de jure application of sovereignty—which they argued was the ultimate goal, ensuring that Judea, Samaria and Gaza will always be under Israeli law, just like Petach Tikva, Rehovot, or Ra’anana.
Every military victory, including 1967, must be sealed with a sovereign and diplomatic victory, and Israel had delayed this for decades, leaving room for false claims and uncertainty, they said.
“Today, the government is finally correcting that, safeguarding the Land of Israel, and taking us closer to final victory: full, irreversible sovereignty and the prevention of any future Palestinian state,” they added.
In the joint statement announcing the decision, Katz said the move was an essential security and governance measure intended to ensure the State of Israel’s control, enforcement and full freedom of action in the area.
Katz said that regulating land ownership prevents the establishment of unilateral facts on the ground, reduces illegal takeover attempts, and harms terrorist infrastructure that undermines stability and security.
“This is a necessary step to create operational and legal certainty, enabling the IDF and the security establishment to act decisively to defend the citizens of Israel and safeguard national interests,” he said.
Smotrich added that an orderly land settlement prevents disputes, creates legal certainty, prevents unilateral steps, and enables lawful and responsible development.
“The State of Israel is taking responsibility for its land and acting in accordance with the law, with transparency and determination,” he said.
According to Levin, the approved proposal constitutes a genuine revolution in Judea and Samaria.
“The Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel. The government of Israel is committed to deepening its hold on all parts of it, and this decision is an expression of that commitment,” he said.
Separately on Sunday, for the first time since Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria, the Israeli Interior Ministry allowed a resident of the reestablished community of Homesh to list “Homesh” as his place of residence on his state-issued ID card.
Homesh recently received an official community “symbol” from the State of Israel, in a process advanced by Smotrich together with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan.
Dagan, himself expelled from the Samaria community of Sa-Nur, called the recognition another step toward returning home.
He added that under his council’s jurisdiction he would work to prepare the infrastructure for receiving those families seeking to return to Homesh and that the community would be four times larger than it was before the 2005 expulsion.
“Those who sought to uproot Homesh will receive a larger and stronger Homesh, firmly rooted in the ground. We have returned home,” said Dagan.
