Occupation, Creeping Annexation, and the Entrenchment of Colonial Control

The decision by the occupation government to initiate the registration and settlement of lands in the occupied West Bank represents a dangerous escalation that falls within the framework of the creeping annexation project, and a clear attempt to impose legal and administrative facts that entrench colonial control over Palestinian land. It reflects the gravity of the occupation government's decision, which violates international law and international resolutions. The initiation of land organization and registration in the West Bank constitutes an arbitrary measure and widespread looting of lands in the occupied West Bank, an effective annexation, and a direct assault on occupied Palestinian land and the rights of its legitimate owners, showing contempt for the international community. The Israeli decision represents an attempt to reclassify vast areas of occupied Palestinian land as "state lands," based on internal administrative procedures that neither create nor abolish rights, and starkly contradict the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits the occupying power from making permanent changes in occupied territory or confiscating the property of residents under occupation. The resumption of land registration for the first time since 1967, and the establishment of specialized bodies within the Israeli Ministry of Justice and the allocation of budgets to implement these procedures, cannot be considered a neutral administrative matter. Instead, it comes within a systematic policy aimed at transforming vast areas of unregistered or disputed lands into so-called "state lands," in preparation for allocating them for settlement expansion and strengthening Israeli control, especially in Area "C." This step will lead to a profound change in the legal reality of lands in the West Bank, as Palestinian citizens will be required to undergo complex procedures to prove their ownership according to criteria imposed by the occupation, which may lead to them losing their rights in vast areas under the pretext of legal and administrative considerations. The West Bank is an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, and is subject to the provisions of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, foremost among them the relevant Security Council resolutions. Any measures aimed at imposing a new legal or administrative reality under the guise of "sovereignty from the bottom up" represent an unacceptable circumvention of the existing legal status and an attempt to legitimize creeping annexation. The West Bank is occupied territory according to the provisions of international law, and any measure aimed at establishing the ownership of the occupying state over lands in the occupied territory constitutes a clear violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, and is considered a form of de facto annexation even without a formal declaration. Targeting lands through unilateral registration will lead to a dangerous escalation, undermine the foundations of the political process, disregard signed agreements, deepen instability, and expose the region to further tension and explosion. The international community must assume its legal and political responsibilities, and the importance of the United Nations and the International Criminal Court taking practical steps to stop these illegal measures, ensure the protection of the rights of the Palestinian people to their land, resources, and property, and take practical steps to stop these policies that do not serve peace and aim to undermine the possibility of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. The property rights, individual and collective, of the Palestinian people to land and real estate are fixed and inalienable rights that cannot be lost by prescription. Our people will continue their legitimate struggle in defense of their land and their fixed national rights, and attempts to impose a fait accompli will not grant legitimacy to the occupation, nor will they change the undeniable truth that the land is occupied Palestinian territory, no matter how long the occupation lasts.