Israel - February 2026

On 8 February, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures that unilaterally expand Israeli administrative and legal control in the occupied West Bank. The measures include facilitating the registration and acquisition of legal title to land seized by Israeli settlers in the territory, removing restrictions on land purchases by Jewish citizens, thus expanding Israeli authority over planning and administrative matters in areas under Palestinian Authority administration, and reviving mechanisms for state-led land acquisition and expropriation in the territory. International observers have warned that these steps constitute significant moves toward the de facto annexation of the West Bank.

Update: The measures were followed by a further expansion of the illegal settlements. At the end of March, the security cabinet approved the establishment of 34 settlements in the West Bank, including new settlements and previously unauthorized outposts that were retroactively legalized. The decision represents the largest single approval of settlements by any Israeli government and brings the total number of settlements authorized under the current government to 103.

Sources: The Times of Israel (1), Middle East Eye, Amnesty International, The Times of Israel (2)