European Parliament rejects debate on Israel's expansion of control in occupied West Bank

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - The Left group in the European Parliament slammed the body Monday for rejecting their request to debate Israel's recent expansion of control in the occupied West Bank.

"Once again, the Parliament decided to turn a blind eye to violence in Palestine,” it wrote on the US social media company X’s platform.

The group said the request for a debate was opposed by the center-right and far-right coalition in the parliament.

Members of the European Parliament are meeting in Strasbourg from Feb. 9-12 for a plenary session to discuss EU-related and international developments.

On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet ordered the repealing of a law barring the sale of Palestinian land to Jews in the West Bank, the unsealing of land ownership records, and transferring building permit authority in a Hebron settlement bloc from the Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.

The measures also expand Israeli oversight and enforcement into areas classified as Area A and Area B, citing alleged violations related to unlicensed construction, water issues and damage to archaeological and environmental sites.

The expansion would allow demolitions and seizures of Palestinian property, even in areas under the civil and security administration of the Palestinian Authority.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024 and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel has intensified its military operations in the West Bank since launching its war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, including killings, arrests, forced displacement and settlement expansion, a trajectory Palestinians say is aimed at paving the way for the formal annexation of the occupied territory.