Israel’s decision to increase its authority over Judea and Samaria was precipitated by the Palestinian Authority’s violations of existing accords with the Jewish state, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday.
The P.A. “is violating its agreements with Israel and the Cabinet’s decision this week addresses these breaches,” the MFA tweeted.
The Security Cabinet decided on Sunday to allow enforcement against illegal construction in P.A.-administered Area A of Judea and Samaria when structures affect heritage or archaeological sites.
The P.A. is responsible for “environmental hazards, the destruction of archaeological sites, illegal construction and the diversion of water sources—all in violation of existing agreements,” the MFA said.
Ramallah is also “conducting a campaign for land grab in Area C, with European Union funding, in total breach of the agreements,” it stated.
Sunday’s decision also lifts confidentiality restrictions on land registry records in Judea and Samaria, in addition to canceling longstanding historical limitations on property sales to non-Arabs in the region.
The Cabinet resolution “corrected a racist distortion based on Jordanian law—a law that discriminated against Jews, Americans, Europeans and anyone who is not Arab regarding real estate purchases in Judea and Samaria,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in its X post on Tuesday.
The decision “establishes equality regarding real estate acquisitions, removes confidentiality regarding the land registry in Judea and Samaria, and enables transparent and open conduct,” it added.
P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas “strongly denounced” the move on Sunday, according to Ramallah’s official WAFA News Agency, calling it “an open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion, land confiscation and the demolition of Palestinian properties.”
Ramallah urged the U.N. Security Council and the Trump administration to intervene to stop Jerusalem’s decision.
Jerusalem opposes the P.A.'s unilateral diplomatic moves against Israel, including Ramallah’s announcement this week that Abbas was drafting a “constitution” for a Palestinian state, which it argues violates the Oslo Accords’ prohibition on steps outside negotiated final-status talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently stated that neither Hamas nor the P.A. can govern Gaza after the war’s conclusion.
Yisrael Beiteinu Party leader Avigdor Liberman told JNS this week that Abbas is a “terrorist” and that Jerusalem should treat him accordingly.
Abbas “advocates political terror,” the opposition lawmaker declared, speaking with JNS at a faction meeting held at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem. “If Hamas terrorists operate through classic terror, he [Abbas] operates through political terror,” said Liberman.
According to a report released by an Israeli watchdog group on Sunday, the P.A. has engaged in a years-long deception, pretending to halt its “pay-for-slay” policy by various means to hoodwink donors.
The Palestinian Media Watch report found that Ramallah’s “Martyrs’ Fund,” the P.A. program which provides monthly stipends for those imprisoned in Israel for attacks against Jews, is still going strong.
According to PMW’s recent research, the Palestinian Authority paid 23,500 terrorists a total of approximately $315 million in 2025 alone.
“The P.A. can’t be trusted,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commented on Tuesday, adding: “It is longstanding U.S. law to oppose the atrocious ‘pay-for-slay’ program, which incentivizes violence against Americans.
“President Trump made this very clear, but President Abbas has still not gotten the message,” concluded Risch.
