FACTBOX – 6 legal violations in Israeli Cabinet decisions on occupied West Bank

By Aysar Alais

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Recent decisions by Israel’s Security Cabinet to change the legal and historical status quo in the West Bank and tighten Tel Aviv’s grip on the occupied territory have raised concerns, as they violate international and legal frameworks in place before the 1967 Israeli occupation.

On Sunday, Israel’s Security Cabinet ordered the repealing of a law barring the sale of Palestinian land to Jews in the West Bank, unsealing 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 administered civilly and security-wise by the Palestinian Authority.

According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the measures are expected to bring sweeping changes to land registration and purchasing mechanisms in the West Bank.

Opening land records would publicly disclose owners’ names and enable Israeli buyers to contact them directly, easing land purchases and settlement expansion across the occupied territory, the outlet added.

Here are the main legal violations in the Israeli measures:

- Legalizing settlement outposts

I: Legalizing settlement outposts and expanding illegal settlements through approving plans to build thousands of settler homes and legalizing outposts previously considered “illegal” under Israeli law.

This violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, and contravenes UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirms the illegality of settlements in all their forms.

- Stripping powers

II: Stripping Palestinian authorities of powers in Hebron and at the historic Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque (Rachel’s Tomb) in Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. This includes withdrawing planning and construction authority from the Hebron Municipality and transferring it, including authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque, to the Israeli Civil Administration.

Under international agreements signed by Israel, including the Hebron Protocol of January 1997, planning and construction authority in Hebron rests with Palestinian municipal authorities. The Israeli government seeks to expand illegal settlements and introduce changes at the Ibrahimi Mosque without municipal approval, which would enable Israel to develop its settlement in Hebron and build additional settlements inside the city.

III: Stripping administrative powers in Areas B and C by imposing administrative control or demolishing Palestinian buildings in areas that fall under the Palestinian Authority’s administrative jurisdiction.

This violates the Oslo II Accord signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1995, which specifies that Area A falls under full Palestinian control, Area B under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control, and Area C under full Israeli control. Area C accounts for about 61% of the West Bank. This would mean Israel carrying out demolitions and preventing Palestinian development not only in Area C, but also in areas under the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction.

According to published details of the Cabinet decision, enforcement bodies will operate in Areas A and B at heritage and archaeological sites, allowing Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian buildings if they deem harmful to heritage, antiquities, environment, or water resources.

- Financial penalties

IV: Financial sanctions and withholding clearance revenues through deductions from Palestinian tax funds. Tel Aviv began this practice in 2019 and escalated it since the start of Israel’s two-year war on Gaza in October 2023. Under this policy, Israel transferred only about 30% of the funds to the Palestinian Authority.

This violates the Paris Economic Protocol (1994), which governs financial relations and obliges Israel to collect taxes and transfer them regularly to the Palestinian Authority without political conditions or unilateral deductions.

Clearance revenues are taxes imposed on goods imported to Palestinian areas, whether from Israel or through border crossings controlled by Tel Aviv, and are collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

- Property purchases

V: Allowing illegal Israeli settlers to directly purchase land. The Cabinet decided to repeal a Jordanian-era law allowing only West Bank Palestinians or registered companies to purchase land in the occupied territory.

The Cabinet also repealed a requirement to obtain transaction permits before completing real estate purchases and opened West Bank land registries for public access. The decision further includes reviving a mechanism allowing land purchases by the official in charge of state property in the West Bank.

VI: Restricting the movement of Palestinian officials and revoking the “VIP” cards, in contradiction with the security and political understandings attached to the interim agreements, which guarantee freedom of movement for Palestinian Authority officials to enable institutions to carry out their duties.

- Palestinian outcry

The Israeli violations have triggered widespread condemnation. In statements issued Sunday, the Palestinian presidency, the Foreign Ministry, and the Fatah movement denounced the Israeli decisions as “dangerous,” “unacceptable,” and “criminal in nature,” saying they target the Palestinian presence and are part of efforts to deepen the de facto annexation of the West Bank.

Hamas also said the measures aim to swallow all Palestinian land and displace its indigenous population.

Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, Israeli attacks in the West Bank have intensified, including killings, arrests, displacement, and illegal settlement expansion, resulting in at least 1,112 Palestinians killed, about 11,500 wounded, and more than 21,000 detained.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala