The Israeli government has scrapped a longstanding rule preventing Israeli citizens from buying land directly from Palestinians, in a bid to establish facts on the ground that would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The previous rules—in place since 1967—served as a legal obstacle to mass Jewish acquisition of Palestinian land.
Israel is also publicly extending its administrative, legal, and enforcement systems into the West Bank in ways that blur the lines of authority established in the 1993 Oslo Accords across areas A (full Palestinian Authority control), B (Palestinian civil control, Israeli security control) and C (full Israeli control). Under new measures taken by the government security cabinet, Israel now has full authority in areas A and B, effectively dismantling Oslo’s legal framework.
This means that matters related to the planning and building of Jewish and Christian holy sites in Hebron and Bethlehem will shift from the Palestinian Authority’s relevant municipalities to Israel's civil administration. The Israeli government also approved a plan to confiscate large areas of the occupied West Bank if Palestinians cannot prove ownership. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the move as a continuation of “the settlement revolution to control all our lands”.
Having lived under decades of Israeli occupation and ever-changing laws and administrative rules, many Palestinians will find it difficult to prove ownership. Driven by rapid population growth, many have been forced to expand their homes without obtaining permits. I met some of them during my field reporting in occupied East Jerusalem, who complained that Israeli authorities never provided them with an alternative planning system to develop or organise their neighbourhoods in a way that met the needs of their families. As a result, tens of thousands of Palestinians now face the threat of having their homes demolished.
The new law means that Palestinians will be stuck in a vicious bureaucratic loop created by Israel, which blocks the ability to obtain building permits, while simultaneously asking them to prove ownership. It is also the continuation of a never-ending saga of dispossession that Palestinians have faced for nearly 80 years.
Systematic policy
It's important to note that Israel’s moves in the West Bank did not emerge in a vacuum. They are part of a systematic policy aimed at weakening the Palestinian Authority. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been withholding the revenue transfers it collects on behalf of the PA in the West Bank, including import duties and taxes deducted from Palestinian workers’ salaries, which constitute a huge chunk of the PA’s budget.
Over the decades, Israel has used this tactic sporadically, when it wanted to put pressure on the PA, but since 2023, it has effectively become state policy—especially since Smotrich became finance minister. With around 60% of the public sector’s salaries unpaid or delayed, the PA’s ability to govern has been effectively crippled, further eroding its legitimacy. Public frustration is palpable and something I’ve personally witnessed in my many visits to the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem in the past two years. The dire economic situation has turned quiet dissatisfaction into vocal, widespread anger, not just over the economy but also over political stagnation and weak governance.
