Palestinian vice president bars cooperation with new Israeli measures in occupied West Bank, urges ‘firm response’

By Abdulsalam Fayez

ISTANBUL (AA) - Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh said Tuesday barred all Palestinian institutions from engaging with measures approved by Israel’s Security Cabinet in the occupied West Bank and called for a “firm response.”

The decision came after the Cabinet approved measures aimed at changing the legal and civil status in the West Bank and deepening Israel’s grip on the occupied territory.

“The Palestinian leadership has called on all civil and security institutions in the State of Palestine not to engage with the occupation’s measures, and to reject them, and adhere to the Palestinian laws enacted in the State of Palestine, in accordance with international law and signed agreements,” Sheikh said on the US social media company X.

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.

“We urge the Palestinian people to remain steadfast and resilient on their land, and to categorically reject dealing with the occupation's laws, the most recent ones approved by the Israeli government a few days ago, which contradict international law and the agreements signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization,” Sheikh said.

“We also call on the international community to take a firm stand against Israel’s extreme-right government and its expansionist, racist, and settler-colonial occupation.”

On Sunday, Sheikh warned that the Israeli measures nullify binding agreements between the two sides, and constitute a blatant violation of international law.

“The unilateral measures aim to undermine any political horizon, destroy the two-state solution and push the region toward further tension and instability,” he said.

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.

The Cabinet decisions coincided with intensified Israeli assaults in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023, which included killings, arrests, displacement and settlement expansion as a prelude to formally annexing the territory.

At least 1,112 Palestinians have been killed, about 11,500 wounded and more than 21,000 arrested during that period.

*Writing by Lina Altawell