Israeli Moves in West Bank Spark Outrage Over De Facto Annexation Claims

Wed Feb 11 2026 03:44:44 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The latest measures by Israel's security cabinet are being denounced as an attempt to de facto annex Palestinian land, drawing condemnation from various corners including the UK and Arab nations.

Recent announcements from Israel's government, aimed at easing regulations for Jewish land acquisition in the West Bank, have raised alarms among Palestinians and international observers. Critics argue these policies could escalate tensions and undermine the prospect of a future Palestinian state. The Israeli government, however, insists that these changes are necessary for transparency and legal land transactions.

Palestinians, Arab countries, Israeli anti-occupation groups, and the UK have condemned new steps approved by Israel's security cabinet for the occupied West Bank, saying they amount to de facto annexation.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the measures that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian land. 'We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,' he stated.

All settlements are seen as illegal under international law. The measures, which are expected to be signed off by Israel's top military commander for the West Bank, aim to increase Israeli control over the territory in property law, planning, licensing, and enforcement.

They were announced three days ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington. Last year, settlements in the West Bank expanded at their fastest rate since monitoring began, according to the United Nations.

The new Israeli measures include cancelling a decades-old prohibition on the direct sale of West Bank land to Jews and declassifying local land registry records. Until now, settlers could only buy homes from registered companies on land controlled by Israel's government.

Israeli ministers presented the change as 'a step that will increase transparency and facilitate land redemption,' with the foreign ministry saying it corrected a 'racist distortion' against non-Arabs in real estate purchases in Judea and Samaria.

The cabinet also decided to repeal a legal requirement for a transaction permit to complete real estate purchases, reducing oversight meant to prevent fraud. Palestinians fear that such changes would increase pressure on individuals to sell and open the door to forgery and deceit.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas branded the measures as 'dangerous' and called on the US and UN Security Council to intervene immediately. The Israeli NGO Peace Now warned that the cabinet's decision risked toppling the Palestinian Authority and involved imposing de facto annexation.

The UK expressed strong condemnation of the move, insisting that unilateral attempts to alter the geographic or demographic make-up of Palestine are wholly unacceptable. The foreign ministers of several Arab nations described the announcement as accelerating attempts at illegal annexation and the displacement of Palestinians, warning that such policies fuel violence and conflict in the region.

With rights to land central to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, land sales to settlers are often controversial, and those involved can face severe repercussions under Palestinian law.

The measures announced by Smotrich also included pivotal controls over religious sites and vital regions in volatile Hebron, in addition to enhancing Israeli oversight in Palestinian-administered areas.

As tensions rise in the region, with ongoing Israeli settlement expansions and calls for annexation from pro-settler factions within Netanyahu's government, the future of both Israeli and Palestinian claims to the land seems more precarious than ever.