West Bank: UN rights chief warns against deepening Israeli control over Palestinian land

“This is yet another step by the Israeli authorities towards rendering a viable Palestinian State impossible, in violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” he said. 

He warned that if implemented, the decisions “will undoubtedly accelerate the dispossession of Palestinians and their forcible transfer, and lead to the creation of more illegal Israeli settlements.” 

This in turn “will also further deprive Palestinians of their natural resources and restrict their enjoyment of other human rights.” 

Acquiring more land 

On 8 February, the Israeli security cabinet approved a package of measures that would increase Israeli civilian authority in Areas A and B of the West Bank, which together constitute roughly 40 per cent of the territory. 

Some of these powers fall under the competence of the Palestinian Authority, according to the Oslo Accords – twin peace agreements signed by Israeli and Palestinian leadership in the 1990s.  

The measures would change the law to allow Israeli authorities and individuals to acquire land in Areas A and B, violating the law of occupation. 

“This will further cement Israel's control and integration of the occupied West Bank into Israel, consolidating unlawful annexation,” Mr. Türk said. 

Cultural rights violated 

The decisions also strip the Palestinian Authority of its planning and building powers in parts of Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank, including the Ibrahimi Mosque – known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs and a holy site for Islam, Judaism and Christianity. 

Israel would also establish administrative control over another holy site, Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, to accelerate settlement expansion.  

 “This not only violates the land rights of Palestinians, but also their cultural rights in respect of sites of particular significance,” the rights chief said. 

‘Decisions must be overturned’ 

Mr. Türk noted that the new measures come amid a wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, forcible transfers, evictions, home demolitions, land grabs, and movement restrictions, among other documented violations. 

“We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave,” he said. 

 “This is supported by rhetoric and actions by senior Israeli officials and violates Israel’s obligation as an occupying power to preserve the existing legal order and social fabric. These decisions must be overturned.” 

He concluded by calling for all settlements to be evacuated and the Israeli occupation to end now.