Israeli measures aimed at tightening control over parts of the occupied West Bank have drawn widespread international condemnation, including renewed opposition from Washington to annexation of the territory.
Israel’s security cabinet approved steps extending Israeli authority in areas currently administered by Palestinians, facilitating land ownership verification and allowing non-Arabs to purchase property in the territory. The measures, which require no additional approval, are intended to strengthen Israeli settlements and prevent the emergence of a sovereign Palestinian state, officials said.
“We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
It was not immediately clear when the new rules would take effect.
The European Union called the measures “another step in the wrong direction,” adding that sanctions remain “still on the table,” including the possible suspension of parts of the EU-Israel trade agreement.
A joint statement by Türkiye and a group of Arab and Islamic countries — including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia — said they “condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty.” The countries warned the steps would “inflame violence, deepen the conflict and endanger regional stability and security.”
Britain said it “strongly condemns” the Israeli decisions. “Any unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic makeup of Palestine is wholly unacceptable and would be inconsistent with international law,” the U.K. government said. “We call on Israel to reverse these decisions immediately.”
The criticism came ahead of a planned White House meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.
Among the approved measures are the repeal of a law dating to the period of Jordanian rule before 1967 that banned the sale of land to non-Arabs, as well as the transfer of authority over building licenses in Hebron from the Palestinian municipality to the Israeli civil administration, the military authority governing the territory. The change could conflict with the 1997 Hebron protocol, which divided the city into separate sectors.
The settlement area around Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem will also shift from Palestinian governance to direct Israeli control.
