Palestinian Authority Denounces Decision as De Facto Annexation of Large Parts of the West Bank
The Israeli government approved a proposal on Sunday to register large areas of the West Bank as “state property” for the first time since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN. Palestinian authorities argue that this constitutes the de facto annexation of a large part of this territory.
The initiative was presented by Finance Minister and ultranationalist leader Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz. Its aim is to regulate agricultural holdings and clarify the status of occupied areas in the West Bank, a bureaucratic process whose complexity led Israel to abandon it decades ago.
According to the Israeli network, the decision was made in retaliation for the “illegal settlement procedures that the Palestinian Authority is promoting in Area C” of the West Bank, which is under Israel’s exclusive administrative and security control.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed shortly afterward the approval of this “important security and administrative measure designed to guarantee the full control, law enforcement, and freedom of action of the State of Israel in the area,” according to the Israeli television channel N12.
Smotrich, for his part, celebrated the continuation of the “revolution in settlement policy and control over our entire country.”
THE PA DENOUNCES THE DECISION AS THE ‘DE FACTO’ ANNEXATION OF THE WEST BANK
The Palestinian government has already reacted against this decision through President Mahmoud Abbas, who denounced what he considers “a ‘de facto’ annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.”
“This is a threat to security and stability, a dangerous escalation, and a flagrant violation of international law and internationally recognized resolutions,” the Presidency condemned in a statement carried by the official news agency WAFA.
“These unilateral measures will not grant any legitimacy to the occupation of the land of the State of Palestine and will not change the legal and historical fact that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, is occupied Palestinian territory according to international law and internationally recognized resolutions,” the statement concluded.
