Annexation and Displacement Plans: Ministers in the Occupation Government Announce Intention to Cancel Oslo and Extend Sovereignty

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced that the government is moving forward with actual measures to extend what he described as 'Israeli sovereignty' over the occupied West Bank territories. Cohen, in statements reported by media sources, considered this step a restoration of what he called 'the legacy of the fathers,' a clear reference to the occupation's intention to legitimize settlements and establish permanent control over the occupied territories.

For his part, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich revealed the features of the government's next phase, emphasizing that it will work intensively to cancel the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestinian side. Smotrich stressed during a party conference that the strategic goal is to definitively prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and to impose full Israeli law on all occupied Palestinian territories without exception.

Smotrich's political vision included explicit calls for what he described as 'voluntary emigration' of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, considering this path the only solution to end the conflict. These statements come at a time when international warnings are escalating regarding the occupation's attempts to change the demographic and legal reality in the occupied territories through veiled forced displacement policies.

Regarding field control, the Finance Minister clarified that plans to expand settlements will not be limited to the West Bank but will also include the Negev and Galilee regions to strengthen the Jewish presence. This approach aims to integrate urban and rural settlements and develop the agricultural sector in those areas, to ensure a demographic superiority that serves long-term Israeli national goals.

Last week witnessed serious legal moves, as the Ministerial Committee for National Security decided to begin the process of registering land in the West Bank for the first time since 1967. This decision paves the way for converting vast areas of Palestinian land into 'state land,' which facilitates their sale to settlers or their allocation for military and security purposes belonging to the occupation.

Media sources confirmed that the land registration project grants the Israeli government broad powers to officially transfer land ownership to the army, security agencies, and settlers. Smotrich considered this legal step aimed at thwarting any unilateral international or Palestinian moves, while Defense Minister Yisrael Katz described it as a fundamental pillar for strengthening Israeli control.

On the Gaza Strip front, Smotrich renewed his extremist calls for the necessity of fully re-occupying the Strip and forming a military government to manage its civil and security affairs. His proposed plan includes establishing new settlement outposts within Gaza, in parallel with continued pressure to encourage residents to leave the Strip under the weight of difficult living and security conditions.

In contrast, these plans faced sharp criticism from opposition leader Yair Lapid, who described Smotrich's vision as an 'illusion' that deviates from the field and political reality. Lapid pointed to major security challenges in Gaza, warning that sliding towards direct military administration would cost Israel exorbitant prices it cannot bear in the long run.

Lapid drew attention to the fact that the current reality in Gaza indicates a role for the Palestinian Authority, especially at the Rafah crossing where officially affiliated employees are present. He clarified that the passports of arrivals and departures are stamped with Palestinian Authority stamps, which refutes the claims of the far-right about the ability to erase the official Palestinian presence from the scene.

These rapid developments come amid categorical Palestinian rejection and widespread Arab and international condemnation, as these steps are considered a blatant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions. Observers warn that the implementation of these plans will ignite the situation in the entire region and eliminate any remaining opportunities for achieving a just political settlement.

Canceling the Oslo Accords is part of a governmental vision to impose full sovereignty and reorder control over the Palestinian territories.