The issue of Palestinian lands in occupied Jerusalem has returned to the forefront, following an Israeli decision to complete the registration of the city's lands in the land registry, in a move that Palestinian parties say aims to facilitate control over lands in East Jerusalem and enhance settlement expansion. According to press reports, the Israeli government has allocated about 30 million shekels (approximately $9.6 million) to implement what it calls 'land settlement and registration,' a process that actually began in 2018.
Palestinian parties and human rights organizations confirm that the decision exploits real estate regulation to expand settlement, and reinforces the application of the 'Absentee Property Law' which is used to seize Palestinian properties, amid great difficulties faced by Jerusalemites in proving ownership due to Israeli complexities. On the ground, reports indicate the registration of about two thousand dunams over the past eight years, most of which are for neighborhoods and settlements, in addition to transferring lands to state ownership and attempts to issue eviction orders against Palestinian families.
Jerusalemites warn that these steps represent an unprecedented escalation that threatens their existence and aims to change the demographic and geographic reality of the city. Data indicates that the number of settlers in the West Bank reached about 770,000 by the end of 2024, distributed among 180 settlements and 256 settlement outposts, 138 of which are classified as pastoral and agricultural.
The United Nations affirms that settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and undermines the possibility of implementing the two-state solution, calling for decades for its cessation without success, as Israel seeks to change the demographic structure of the region and displace Palestinians, entrenching the occupation and liquidating the Palestinian cause.
According to data from the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, settler groups committed about 4,723 attacks in the occupied West Bank during 2025, resulting in the martyrdom of 14 Palestinians and the displacement of 13 Bedouin communities comprising 1,090 people.
The decision exploits real estate regulation to expand settlement, and reinforces the application of the 'Absentee Property Law' which is used to seize Palestinian properties.
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Registration of Jerusalem lands.. an Israeli plan to confiscate Palestinian property and entrench settlement