Israel to take full control of land registry in West Bank’s Area C, cementing annexation
A child gazes on family belongings after Israeli machinery demolished their house near Halhoul village in Area C of the West Bank, 17 June 2021
Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem and Rayhan Uddin in London report in Middle East Eye on 12 May 2025:
Israel’s cabinet has for the first time voted to take sole responsibility for land registration in Area C of the occupied West Bank, a decision that has been described as effective Israeli annexation of the majority of Palestinian land.
Under the 1995 Oslo Agreement, the West Bank was divided into three areas, with the Palestinian Authority (PA) exerting limited control of areas A and B, while Israel took full control of Area C. The latter area forms 60 percent of total land in the territory.
On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet agreed that in Area C, Israel would now make all decisions about land, and any Palestinian efforts to recognise land using its own land registry would be legally void.
According to Israeli media, authorities decided to move from a view of “all territory is forbidden – except for what is permitted” to “all territory is permitted – except for what is prohibited”. Israel Katz, Israel’s defence minister, said the move would lead to the “strengthening, consolidation and expansion” of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Katz and Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister, have spearheaded the vote.
Under international law, the entire territory covering Areas A, B and C is Palestinian land and all Israeli settlements on them are illegal. The vast majority of Israel’s 700,000 settlers live illegally in Area C.
Ayed Jafry, an activist from Sinjil, a village which mostly falls in Area C, said the decision would have a grave impact on Palestinian property rights. “They are effectively talking about annexation and control of the West Bank,” he told Middle East Eye. “We will return to dealing directly with the occupation regarding these lands.”
Jafry said that the new policy would open the way for Israeli settler groups to seize land without any oversight or accountability.
Even before this policy came into effect, life was already a living hell for Palestinians in Area C.
“Today, an employee from Sinjil rents a house inside Ramallah city [in Area A] so he doesn’t miss work. In all areas, there are barriers, a wall, and strangulation,” said Jafry.
“Even ambulances are restricted, and the press is also restricted. There is a complete strangulation of everything Palestinian.”
‘Messianic vision’
Under the Oslo Accords, it was agreed that all three areas were to come under full Palestinian control by 2000. That did not occur, and since then, Israel has increasingly displaced Palestinians and moved Israeli settlers into occupied lands. For years, Israeli authorities and settler groups have treated Area C as being under Israel’s permanent control.