'Greater Jerusalem' Plan: How 'the Cabinet's' Decisions End Oslo Divisions and Legitimise Annexation?

The Israeli occupation authorities have moved beyond the traditional imposition of sovereignty over the occupied city of Jerusalem, transitioning to political and administrative steps aimed at achieving the 'Greater Jerusalem' project. This plan seeks to resolve the demographic conflict in favour of settlers, by annexing villages that were administratively managed by the Palestinian Authority and transforming them into a geographical extension of Israeli sovereignty.

Through the Ministerial Committee for National Security (the Cabinet), the Israeli government has approved a series of decisions aimed at dismantling the legal divisions established by the Oslo II Accord in 1995. Under these new directives, Israel seeks to end the distinction between areas classified as 'A', 'B', and 'C', thereby restoring full occupation control over real estate and land matters throughout the West Bank.

The new decisions include granting extensive powers to demolish Palestinian homes in areas 'A' and 'B', which previously enjoyed a degree of Palestinian administrative or security autonomy. This measure places thousands of structures under the Israeli demolition guillotine on the pretext of lacking permits, equating them with areas classified as 'C' which are under absolute military control.

In a notable legal move, the occupation revoked the Jordanian law that prohibited the sale of land to Jews in the West Bank, and also lifted restrictions on sales to foreigners. This amendment aims to legitimise settlers' ownership of Palestinian land using the same legal mechanisms applied within the cities occupied in 1948, thereby facilitating rapid settlement expansion.

Specialised sources reported that declassifying land records and publishing them publicly is one of the most dangerous provisions of the recent decisions, as it allows settlers and settlement associations direct access to owners' data. The purpose of this step is to facilitate pressure on landowners or attempt to conclude suspicious and fraudulent deals to seize strategic properties.

Jerusalem Governorate is directly affected by these decisions, especially villages and towns located outside the apartheid wall and classified within the 'J2' zone. These areas, inhabited by approximately 180,000 people, face the risk of being erased from any future political settlement by transforming them into isolated enclaves gradually subjected to Israeli law.

Official data indicates that there are 29 Palestinian local authorities in Jerusalem Governorate, including municipalities and village councils, which are now threatened with losing their civil powers. The transformation of these areas into an extension of Israeli sovereignty effectively means ending the Palestinian institutional presence in the vicinity of the holy city and completely encircling it.

Experts in settlement affairs explained that built-up areas in Jerusalem villages located outside the municipal boundaries were classified as 'B', while the empty spaces around them were classified as 'C'. The new decisions end this distinction, allowing the occupation to prevent Palestinian urban expansion in 'B' areas and allocate them for the expansion of existing settlements or the establishment of new outposts.

The village of Nabi Samuel stands out as a stark example of what the occupation plans, where it has been completely isolated and its lands turned into a nature reserve to prevent any Palestinian demographic expansion. This model of isolation and constriction is likely to be replicated in other villages around Jerusalem, leading to the suffocation of Palestinian communities and the indirect displacement of their residents.

The danger of declassifying real estate records lies in the fact that they had been kept by the Civil Administration since 1967 without being made public, but their current announcement opens the door to a settlement 'real estate market'. Observers believe that this step will lead to a wave of forgery and internal strife, ultimately aiming to destabilise Palestinian land ownership.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission affirmed that these measures require a comprehensive national confrontation strategy that includes civil disobedience and strengthening the international boycott of the occupation system. The commission considered what is happening to be a 'legal war' that is as dangerous as the field military operations targeting the Palestinian presence.

Jerusalem Governorate described these decisions in an official statement as the most dangerous since the 1967 setback, given that they fundamentally change the legal status of the occupied land. The Governorate warned that international silence on these steps would lead to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause in Jerusalem and its transformation into a completely Jewish city.

Ultimately, the far-right government in Israel seeks through these decisions to impose 'de facto annexation' of the West Bank without a formal declaration that would provoke the international community. The integration of land systems and the unification of building and demolition laws aim to create a single geographical and legal reality extending from the river to the sea, nullifying any prospect of establishing a Palestinian state.

The Cabinet's decisions are the most dangerous since 1967, representing a desperate attempt to impose a new colonial fait accompli through settlement and changing the legal status of the land.