Criticism has emerged that the Israeli security cabinet’s policy to facilitate land purchases in the West Bank is essentially a push for annexation, prompting the White House to reiterate President Donald Trump’s opposition to annexation. The international community has urged Israel to withdraw the measure.
According to the Israeli media outlet “Times of Israel” on the 9th (local time), the White House, in its commentary on the Israeli security cabinet’s decision, emphasized that President Trump has clearly stated he does not support Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. They stressed that a stable West Bank aligns with the current administration’s goals of ensuring Israel’s security and achieving peace in the region.
The previous day, Israel’s security cabinet approved measures to facilitate Israeli land purchases in the West Bank and expand Israeli control in the area. This measure abolishes the clause prohibiting the sale of West Bank land to Jews and discloses the previously classified West Bank land registry. This allows interested Israelis to identify and directly contact landowners.
Until now, Israelis could not directly purchase land in the West Bank and could only buy through companies registered with the Civil Administration, Israel’s governing body in the West Bank. This new measure is expected to intensify the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
In a statement, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the measure would allow Jews to purchase land in Judea and Samaria (Israel’s term for the West Bank) as they would in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. Smotrich added, “We will continue to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Additionally, the security cabinet approved measures to strengthen influence beyond Area C, where Israel has full control under the 1995 Oslo II Accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Area C comprises about 60% of the West Bank. This cabinet decision also expands monitoring and enforcement activities in Area A, fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and Area B, under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control. This is under the pretext of monitoring water pollution, damage to historical sites, and environmental pollution.
Peace Now, an Israeli organization monitoring settlements, expressed concern that this measure would allow Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian structures in Areas A and B. They worried that the broad interpretation could include small businesses or homes not connected to sewage treatment facilities as potential targets for demolition.
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Peace Now stated in a press release that this measure is a de facto annexation, saying, “The cabinet has decided to strip the Palestinian Authority of its powers in Areas A, B, and Hebron. This directly violates international agreements Israel has committed to and is a step towards annexing Areas A and B.” They also criticized, “Netanyahu promised to topple Hamas in Gaza, but in reality, he chose to undermine the Palestinian Authority. This is an extreme and irresponsible government leading us to ruin.”
The New York Times (NYT) pointed out that this measure challenges President Trump’s stance, expressed last September, of not allowing Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. The Israeli security cabinet’s decision came just before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Trump in Washington D.C. on the 11th. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated that the Iran nuclear deal would be discussed at this meeting, and Netanyahu believes that restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missiles and cessation of support for Iranian proxies must be included in the nuclear negotiations.
Eight Arab and Islamic countries, including Qatar, Jordan, UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, issued a joint statement on the 9th condemning the Israeli cabinet’s decision as an attempt to accelerate the illegal annexation of the West Bank and forcibly displace Palestinian residents. These countries criticized that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories, and such measures are a blatant violation of international law and undermine the two-state solution.
According to the Times of Israel, Nabila Massrali, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at the European Commission, criticized the decision to expand Israeli control in the West Bank as “another step in the wrong direction.”
The British Foreign Office also issued a statement on the 9th, urging the Israeli cabinet to immediately withdraw its decision. The Foreign Office condemned the measure as expanding Israeli control in the West Bank, stating that unilateral attempts to change the geographical or demographic composition of Palestine are entirely unacceptable and violate international law.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also called for the withdrawal of the measure in a statement on the 9th, reiterating that all Israeli settlements and related structures and infrastructure in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are legally invalid and clearly violate international law.
While the international community deems West Bank settlements illegal, Netanyahu’s far-right coalition is accelerating settlement expansion. Since last December, when the Israeli cabinet approved 19 new settlements in the West Bank, the number of settlements has increased by nearly 50% under this government. In August last year, the Netanyahu government also approved the establishment of the E1 settlement, which bisects the West Bank. The number of illegal settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem exceeds 700,000, posing a significant obstacle to establishing an independent Palestinian state based in this region. Violence perpetrated by settlers against Palestinians is also a concern.
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