Israel’s security cabinet approved a package of measures Sunday intended to increase Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weaken the already limited role of the Palestinian Authority, according to the Associated Press. The decisions were announced in a statement by the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician whose portfolio has included influence over settlement-related authorities.
Peace Now researcher Yonatan Mizrachi said the cabinet action was “very significant,” while also noting that the measures still require approval by Israel’s top commander for the West Bank. Mizrachi’s comments reflected a key procedural step still described as pending, even as the Israeli government publicized the policy changes.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the decision, saying it was “dangerous” and an “open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion” and land confiscation. Abbas called for the United States and the U.N. Security Council to intervene immediately.
Jordan’s foreign ministry also condemned the cabinet steps, saying they were aimed at imposing illegal Israeli sovereignty and entrenching settlements. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, called on Palestinians in the West Bank to “intensify the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers.”
The measures come days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington about Iran and other matters, AP reported. The timing drew additional attention to how Israeli-Palestinian policy shifts may intersect with U.S. engagement in the region.
AP said the steps announced Sunday include canceling a prohibition on sales of West Bank land to Israeli Jews, and declassifying West Bank land registry records to ease land acquisition. The package also would transfer construction planning authority for religious and other sensitive sites in Hebron to Israeli authorities, AP reported, and would allow Israeli enforcement of environmental and archaeological matters in Palestinian-administered areas.
The cabinet decisions also would revive a committee intended to let Israel make “proactive” land purchases in the territory, which AP said was described as a way to guarantee settlement land reserves “for generations to come.” Peace Now’s explainer issued late Sunday said the decision was aimed at “breaking through every possible barrier on the way to a massive land grab in the West Bank,” including the ability to demolish construction in Palestinian-controlled areas if Israeli authorities determine it harms heritage or the environment.
The West Bank is divided between Israeli-controlled areas where settlements are located and sections where the Palestinian Authority has autonomy, equal to about 40% of the territory, according to AP. Palestinians are not permitted to sell land privately to Israelis, while settlers can buy homes on land controlled by Israel’s government, a structure AP described as a central driver of control over territory.
More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967 from Jordan and the Palestinians seek for a future state, AP reported. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The Israeli government has also recently moved to expand settlements, AP said. In December, Israel’s Cabinet approved a proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and AP said Israel cleared a final hurdle for construction on a project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank in two.