Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday announced a series of security cabinet decisions to “dramatically” change land registration and property acquisition procedures in the West Bank, easing Jewish settlement in the territory.
The decisions “are intended to remove decades-old barriers, repeal discriminatory Jordanian legislation, and enable accelerated development of settlement on the ground,” the two ministers said in a joint statement.
In response, the Palestinian Authority condemned the move and called for UN and US intervention. Hamas called for a “rebellion across the West Bank and Jerusalem” and the “escalation” of the conflict “by all available means,” while urging Arab and Muslim states to cut ties to Israel.
The approved plan ordered the publication of land registries in the West Bank, according to the statement, meaning that property lists will be open to the public, and potential buyers will be able to identify landowners and approach them for purchasing. Until now, land registration in the West Bank had been classified.
The cabinet action also repealed a legal provision that prevented non-Muslims from buying real estate in the area — a law left over from the period when Jordan controlled the territory. Until the cabinet’s approval, Jews could acquire land only through companies registered in the area rather than privately.
Alongside this, the requirement for a transaction license from the land-registration officer has been canceled, to be replaced by “professional threshold conditions only, removing a major obstacle in the local real estate market,” the statement added.
The new arrangement will “allow Jews to purchase land in Judea and Samaria just as they purchase [land] in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem,” it said, using biblical terminology for the regions that make up the West Bank.
It was also decided to expand oversight and enforcement activities into areas A and B with regard to water violations, damage to archaeological sites, and environmental hazards that pollute the entire territory, the statement said.
According to the Oslo II Accords, signed in 1995 by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank is divided into three areas, A, B and C. While Area C is under full Israeli control, Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, and Area A is under full Palestinian control.
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