Israel - May 2025

On 11 May, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to initiate land registration in Area C of the West Bank (comprising 60 per cent of the territory), a process in which Israeli authorities will investigate, decide and record land ownership in the territory. The plan has raised fears that the process will lead to land dispossession among Palestinians, who lack access to the documents and information needed to prove ownership. According to Defence Minister Israel Katz, the move is intended to ‘strengthen, consolidate and expand Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria [the biblical names Israel uses to refer to the West Bank]’, a violation of international law. It is the first time since 1968 that land registration has been authorised in Area C which, under the Oslo peace agreement, is administered by Israel. The construction of settlements in the West Bank has been significantly expanded in recent years and on 29 May Israel approved 22 new settlements. 

Sources: The Times of Israel, Haaretz, UN Human Rights Office, Peace Now, WAFA News Agency