The Israeli political-security cabinet approved a decision on Sunday to register land ownership rights in Area C of the West Bank for the first time since 1967. This decision contravenes international laws relating to occupation and will lead to the confiscation of Palestinian land, which has difficulty proving its ownership.

The cabinet also instructed the Israeli security establishment to curb "by any means" parallel measures initiated by the Palestinian Authority.

Haaretz newspaper quoted Defense Minister Yisrael Katz today, Monday, as saying that this decision "will strengthen the settlements."

The decision stipulates that ownership rights to land be registered in the Land Registry at the end of the mapping procedures and the occupation authorities' review of ownership claims. Registering ownership in the Land Registry is a final procedure and difficult to appeal. Under these procedures, any land with no registered ownership rights is transferred to the occupation authorities.

During the British Mandate and Jordanian rule in the West Bank, land registration procedures were initiated, but Israel froze these procedures after occupying the West Bank in 1967.

Israeli expert in international law and the laws of war, human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, said the cabinet's decision contradicts the law prohibiting changes with far-reaching effects in an occupied territory, according to the newspaper.

Sfard added, "There is no chance that any Palestinian will receive recognition of their property rights. The land settlement decision will be implemented under conditions that will transform it into massive theft of all land in Area C by the State of Israel."

He stressed that "it is no coincidence that a ban was imposed on the occupier from implementing land settlements. This ban stems from the fact that under conditions of occupation, it is not possible to implement settlements freely."

Palestinians have no access to information and documents that could prove their rights, and absentees (i.e. Palestinians who do not reside in Israel or the West Bank) cannot participate in these proceedings despite being landowners. The occupier is not an impartial body that decides claims, and there is a complete lack of trust and fear that will cause many Palestinians to refrain from participating in this process.

The cabinet decision, initiated by Katz and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as the Defense Ministry minister responsible for settlements, stated that the cabinet orders the commander of the IDF Central Command to resume land settlement in Area C.

Under the Cabinet decision, the Authority for the Registration and Settlement of Real Estate Rights in the Ministry of Justice, the Legal Advisor to the Security Service, and the Settlement Directorate must complete the work within 60 working days in order to implement the land settlement.

Katz described the cabinet's decision in this regard as "revolutionary," and that it "does justice to Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria and will lead to its strengthening, consolidation, and expansion."

Smotrich said, "The land settlement process joins the settlement of outposts (i.e., unauthorized outposts), planning, construction, and development of roads and infrastructure that we are leading in order to bring in another million settlers, to strengthen the security belt of the State of Israel and eliminate the threat of a Palestinian terrorist state."

In recent years, the Palestinian Authority has begun land registration procedures, but Israel does not recognize this. Yesterday's cabinet decision stipulates that no authority will be granted to the Palestinian process and instructs the Israeli security establishment to prevent its completion "by all means at its disposal."

Among the measures mentioned in the cabinet decision are preventing Palestinian employees or surveyors from entering areas where the occupation's land settlement is in effect, and preventing the transfer of economic aid from foreign countries to implement Palestinian land registration procedures.

In its decision, the cabinet instructed the IDF Chief of Staff and the heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad to transfer information to the Ministry of Finance regarding Palestinian Authority investments in land registration procedures, including funds collected as donations from foreign countries, to explore ways to deduct them from the Palestinian Authority's clearance revenues.