Israel Cabinet approves West Bank land registration, advancing annexation

The Israeli cabinet approved a government resolution on February 15 to launch land registration in Area C of the West Bank, allowing land Palestinians cannot prove ownership of to be registered as Israeli state property available for Jewish settlement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Justice Minister Yariv Levin sponsored the measure. The UN Special Rapporteur condemned the move as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and noted it reversed a prior commitment to transfer land registry authority to Palestinian institutions under Oslo.