RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM/GAZA – The Palestinian Presidency on Sunday said Israel’s decision to reopen land registration in the West Bank violates international law and poses a “threat to security and stability”.
In a statement carried by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the presidency called the move a “dangerous escalation” and a de facto annexation aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement expansion. It said the decision contradicts UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334, which deems all settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, illegal.
“Measures will not grant the Israeli occupation legitimacy over the land of the State of Palestine or alter the legal and historical status of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” the statement said. Palestinian leaders called on the international community to intervene to halt the move and enforce international law.
Meanwhile, Hamas described the decision as “null and void” and an attempt to impose a “Judaizing settlement reality by force”. The group vowed to resist all efforts to impose annexation, displacement, or settlement projects and urged international parties to protect Palestinians’ rights to land, self-determination, and statehood with Jerusalem as the capital.
Israel on Sunday approved a plan to register West Bank land as “state property”, a move that could strengthen Israeli claims and facilitate settlement expansion. The plan, submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, was approved by the cabinet, according to a joint statement.
For the first time since the 1967 Middle East war, which brought the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza under Israeli control, the cabinet authorized a land registration process in the West Bank. The Land Registry and Settlement of Rights, a government authority under the Justice Ministry, will carry out the process with dedicated staff and budget.
The ministers said the move would allow a “transparent and thorough clarification” of property rights. Much of the West Bank has never undergone systematic registration, with ownership claims relying on Ottoman, British Mandate, or Jordanian records.
The decision is the latest in a series of measures by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government aimed at expanding settlements. Palestinian officials have warned that formalizing Israeli state claims over land in Area C could further undermine prospects for a negotiated two-state solution.
The West Bank is seen by most of the international community as occupied territory. Palestinians seek it as the core of a future independent state.
Dozens killed in Israeli strikes
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Civil Defense agency said at least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the enclave, revising an earlier toll of nine.
Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said Israeli aircraft carried out strikes from dawn to midday in several areas.
One person was killed and several others wounded when a drone struck a group in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood west of Gaza City, he said. Local sources identified the dead man as Sami al-Dahdouh, a member of the Islamic Jihad movement. The group did not immediately comment.
Basal said three people were seriously wounded in a separate drone strike west of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Earlier, 10 people were killed in two airstrikes that hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north and a gathering in Khan Younis in the south, he added.
Residents said Israeli forces also demolished homes near the Sheikh Zayed area north of Jabalia, accompanied by artillery fire and gunfire. Artillery shelling was also reported in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.
Basal also said five people in their twenties were killed and others injured by an Israeli airstrike that hit a gathering of Palestinians near the Turkish slaughterhouse area, west of Khan Younis.
He added that four Palestinians were killed, and three others injured by an Israeli strike targeting a tent sheltering displaced persons near the Telecommunications Junction, west of the Jabalia refugee camp.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the latest strikes.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement on Saturday, saying they had identified “several armed terrorists” in the northern Gaza Strip, likely emerging from underground infrastructure.
The IDF claimed the armed individuals were hiding under debris near the Yellow Line, posing a threat to the safety of IDF troops.
Rafah crossing
Separately, Gaza health authorities said the Rafah Crossing with Egypt is operating under strict limits that endanger thousands of patients needing medical treatment abroad.
In a statement, officials said the partial reopening of the crossing on Feb 2 allows only a small number of travelers, “far short of the minimum humanitarian obligations owed to the sick and wounded”.
The authorities said more than 20,000 patients, including critical cases of cancer, heart disease, kidney failure, and severe injuries, are awaiting treatment abroad. They cited “harsh and painful testimonies” from patients who have faced delays and restrictions, worsening both their physical and psychological suffering.
Health officials called for the permanent, unrestricted opening of the crossing, immediate evacuation of critically ill patients, and an increase in traveler quotas to meet urgent medical needs. They urged international and humanitarian organizations to intervene, describing access to treatment as a fundamental human right protected by international law.