Colonial expansion

According to reports, the new policies will eliminate obstacles that have limited settlement growth for decades. They include lifting confidentiality rules on land registries and repealing a Jordanian-era law that prohibited land sales to Jews in the occupied West Bank. The decisions also reactivate a land acquisition committee, dormant for over 20 years, to facilitate large-scale purchases aimed at securing settlement land for future generations. The measures also violate the 1997 Hebron Protocol, which grants planning and construction authority in Jewish settlement areas of Hebron, including around the Ibrahimi Mosque, to the Palestinian municipality. The new rules instead transfer this authority to the Israeli Civil Administration. Additional decisions are expected to alter the status quo around Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, as well as in Areas A and B of the occupied West Bank, which are under Palestinian administrative control. As a result, Israeli authorities could demolish Palestinian-owned buildings in Area A under the guise of protecting archaeological and heritage sites. Israeli-controlled media said that Smotrich and Katz have promoted these measures to gain political support ahead of upcoming elections in the occupied territories. Analysts say the changes to land ownership and purchasing procedures in the occupied West Bank will be legally difficult to undo, leading to a significant expansion of Israeli settlements in the territory.