Israel's security cabinet on Sunday approved measures aimed at deepening Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weakening the already limited power of the Palestinian Authority, the agency reports. "AP".
The office of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is from a far-right party, said the decisions would make it easier for Jewish settlers to force Palestinians to give up land.
Support the TIME. Preserve the truth.
Professional journalism is in the public interest. Your support helps it remain independent and credible. Contribute too. 1 euro makes a difference.
Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support Contribute"We will continue to bury the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's office said.
Yonatan Mizrachi, a researcher at the Peace Now watchdog group, said the decision was significant. He said the decision still requires approval from Israel's top commander for the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement called the decision dangerous and "an open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion" and "land confiscation."
He called for the United States and the United Nations Security Council to intervene immediately.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank to "intensify the confrontation with the occupiers."
The measures announced on Sunday include lifting a ban on the sale of West Bank land to Israeli Jews, declassifying West Bank land registry data to facilitate land purchases, transferring planning for the construction of religious sites and other sensitive sites in the volatile city of Hebron to Israeli authorities, and allowing Israeli enforcement of environmental and archaeological issues in Palestinian-administered areas.
The measures would also revive a committee that would allow the state of Israel to make "proactive" land purchases in the territory.