The Israeli Cabinet approved at its regular Sunday weekly meeting the resumption of land registration across Judea and Samaria for the first time since the 1967 Six-Day War, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced in a joint statement.
“The decision means, among other things, the registration of extensive areas in Judea and Samaria that belong to the state in the name of the state,” the three ministers said.
The move will enable “a transparent and in-depth clarification of rights,” they said, noting that land registration would help end legal disputes and facilitate development of the area and infrastructure.
The Cabinet decision “constitutes an appropriate response to the illegal settlement procedures that the Palestinian Authority is promoting in Area C in violation of the law and agreements,” the three leaders concluded.
Sunday’s decision came after the Cabinet last week approved lifting confidentiality from land registry records in the area; canceling restrictions on land sales to non-Arabs; and abolishing the need for prior approval for sales.
The Regavim Movement, which has been at the forefront of monitoring illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria, welcomed the government’s latest “historic Zionist decision” for the area.
“Under the auspices of the vacuum on the part of Israel, the Palestinian Authority began registering illegal land,” the NGO said. “With the assistance of foreign governments, it registered in the ‘Palestinian land registry’ over 1.3 million dunams [130,000 hectares],” or approximately 321,000 acres, Regavim added.
Regulating land registration in Judea and Samaria “brings an end to a disgraceful freeze of nearly six decades that created a severe legal and administrative vacuum and opened the door to prolonged land disputes, document forgery and large-scale, unlawful land seizures,” Regavim said.
Last week, the Palestinian Authority “strongly denounced” Israel’s moves in Judea and Samaria, per Ramallah’s official WAFA news agency, criticizing them as an “attempt to legalize settlement expansion, land confiscation and the demolition of Palestinian properties.”
P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas in a statement urged the United Nations Security Council and the United States to intervene to stop the moves.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has led an unprecedented drive to expand control of Judea and Samaria, approving some 50,000 homes and more than 50 Jewish communities since returning to office in December 2022.
