The Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Qatar expressed their strong opposition to the Israeli Government's announcement of a land registration process in the occupied West Bank. This step reinforces the control of the Jewish majority State over that Palestinian territory. The decision makes some Arab countries and the Palestinians fear a "de facto annexation" of the West Bank by Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
First modification: 02/16/2026 - 14:07 Last modification: 02/16/2026 - 14:09
Condemnations are multiplying within the Arab world. The Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Qatar denounced the approval of the Israeli Government's new measures to strengthen control of the West Bank territory.
Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved new guidelines on Sunday, February 15, aimed at facilitating the purchase of land by Israeli settlers. Thus, the ministers voted in favor of initiating a property registration process, a measure unprecedented in the occupied West Bank since 1967, reported Israeli military radio.
The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on platform He considered that the new measures are "legally invalid" and represent the "de facto beginning of an annexation process."
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Read alsoIsraeli Cabinet approves land registration in the West Bank; Palestinians denounce "de facto annexation"
"Depriving the Palestinian people of their rights"
The Government of Egypt stressed that it "strongly condemns" these announcements, which, according to it, represent "a dangerous escalation aimed at consolidating Israeli control" over the occupied West Bank and a violation of international agreements.
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A week ago, Benjamin Netanyahu's government had already attracted widespread condemnation by approving a series of measures that facilitate the purchase of land from Israeli settlers, including the repeal of a decades-old law that prohibited Jews from directly purchasing land in the occupied West Bank.
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These measures also allow Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites, even when they are located in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli colonization continues in the occupied West Bank since 1967
The Israeli Foreign Ministry defended the legality of the measures approved on Sunday, which, in its opinion, are intended to "bring order to property registration procedures" and "resolve legal disputes."
He justified them, accusing the Palestinian Authority of carrying out "illegal property registration procedures" in areas that are supposed to be under Israeli control under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s.
Colonization has continued under all Israeli governments, both left and right, since 1967, and has intensified notably under the current Executive, particularly since the beginning of the escalation of hostilities against Gaza, on October 7, 2023 due to the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in southern Israel.
More than 500,000 Israelis currently live in colonies in the occupied West Bank, which the UN considers illegal under international law, amid some three million Palestinians.
Read alsoIsrael accelerates the annexation of the West Bank by repealing the veto on land purchases for non-Arabs
With AFP
This article was adapted from its original French version
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