Israel on Wednesday launched an electronic land registration system in the occupied Palestinian territories, a move aimed at cementing Israeli control over the West Bank and advancing the territory’s de facto annexation. Branded by Israeli authorities as a modernization of the digital property registry, the initiative was denounced by the Jerusalem Governorate as a tool to institutionalize the unlawful seizure of Palestinian land through a restructuring of land registration mechanisms in favor of settlement expansion. The Israeli security cabinet approved the broader land settlement plan in May 2025, authorizing a comprehensive process to register land ownership across the West Bank. Palestinian officials say the measure is designed to complete the legal and administrative integration of occupied territory into Israel by placing all land registration procedures under Israeli authority. In February, the Israeli government formally approved reopening land registration in the West Bank. The cabinet backed a proposal put forward by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz. The plan includes registering vast areas of the West Bank as “state land.” Implementation was assigned to the Israeli Ministry of Justice’s Land Registration and Settlement Authority, with a dedicated state budget for the project. Israeli officials said the initiative would improve transparency, resolve legal disputes, facilitate infrastructure development, and streamline land marketing. Smotrich described the move as a step toward strengthening Jewish settlement throughout what Israel calls Judea and Samaria, the biblical term used by Israeli officials for the West Bank. “For the first time since the Six-Day War, we are restoring order and proper governance in land management,” he said at the time According to the Jerusalem Governorate, authority over land registration has already been transferred to the Israeli Ministry of Justice and the Survey of Israel, with 244 million shekels ($79 million) allocated to the effort. Palestinian officials say the process effectively paves the way for the permanent takeover and registration of nearly 58 percent of Area C — equivalent to roughly 35 percent of the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem. The move marks a serious shift in Israeli policy toward both the Palestinian Authority and the future status of the West Bank. Until now, land records in the territory had largely remained confidential. The new framework also expands Israeli oversight and enforcement powers, including demolition authority, into Areas A and B in matters related to water violations, environmental hazards, and archaeological sites. Palestinians warned that opening the land registry, known as the “tabu,” will allow Israeli settlers and organizations to identify Palestinian landowners directly and pressure them into selling property, thereby facilitating land acquisition. Particularly contentious is the extension of the policy into Area A, which under the Oslo Accords falls under full Palestinian civil and security control and was previously off-limits to Israelis. The measure could effectively strip the Palestinian Authority of its role in regulating land ownership, property transactions, and planning in Areas A and B, while granting Israeli authorities expanded inspection and demolition powers. A legal analysis published by Birzeit University’s Institute of Law argued that Israel is effectively “swallowing” the West Bank by redesigning the mechanisms of control in ways that amount to practical annexation. The institute said the measures consolidate Israeli dominance, marginalize the Palestinian Authority, legitimize settlement expansion, and create irreversible facts on the ground. Under the current plan, Israel’s military Central Command is expected to complete land settlement procedures for 15 percent of the West Bank by 2030, initially focusing on Area C. The Palestinian presidency has instructed its ministries and agencies not to cooperate with any Israeli-imposed arrangements. Palestinian officials insist international law prohibits an occupying power from annexing occupied territory, permanently seizing public or private property except under strict military necessity, or altering the legal status of occupied land — all of which, they say, is now taking place openly through administrative and technological means.
