The newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli occupation has completed the process of annexing large parts of the West Bank, especially "Area C," through unannounced administrative moves, without the need to issue official decisions or legislation in the Knesset. It clarified that the recent vote in the Knesset on declaring "Israeli sovereignty" over Palestinian territories does not represent the beginning of the annexation process, but rather an attempt to cover up the reality of annexation that has been implemented for years through gradual and stable measures on the ground.

The newspaper pointed out that this announcement does not constitute a substantial legal change, but serves as a "smoke screen" that hides the fact that the occupation has effectively annexed parts of "Area C" through administrative and security changes, without issuing any official legislation. It emphasized that the legal concept of annexation can be realized through the actual reality on the ground, which was affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its opinion issued in July 2024, where it considered that annexation can occur without an explicit declaration if it is done through actual control over the areas.

In the context of the procedures, the occupation government transferred the administration of the West Bank from the military apparatus to civilian ministries, such as the ministries of transportation, education, and agriculture, which reduced the army's role and turned it into a secondary executive body. Figures from the settlers were also appointed to sensitive administrative positions, reinforcing civilian control over the occupied areas and bringing them closer to the Israeli legal system.

Among the important steps mentioned by the newspaper is the dissolution of the independent legal advisory office in the army and subjecting it to political control, which represents a qualitative shift in transferring powers from the military leadership to civilian ministries. Additionally, budgets were reallocated, planning principles were changed, licensing procedures were expedited, and infrastructure was developed for the benefit of the settlements, leading to their gradual integration into the Israeli civil legal system.

The newspaper viewed the recent Knesset announcement as not a substantial change, but rather an extension of a "consciousness engineering" process aimed at enabling the political class to deny the reality of annexation, as long as no official announcement is made, and to cover up the role played by judicial and administrative institutions in facilitating this reality. It warned that the continuation of annexation, despite its violation of international law, has established a system based on discrimination, where areas are managed according to two different legal systems, one for Jews and another for Palestinians, without granting civil rights to Palestinians, within a systematic discrimination in resources and representation.

The newspaper linked this situation to an apartheid system, where the occupation governs two population groups in one area under two different legal systems and unequal political representation, reflecting a pattern of systematic discrimination in rights and resources.