Multiple Palestinian and Arab sources have described the latest decisions taken by what is called the Zionist mini-ministerial council (the “Cabinet”) as the most dangerous measures since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967. According to these sources, the newly approved package of decisions represents a radical transformation in the legal and geographic reality of the occupied Palestinian territories, effectively opening the door to an unprecedented phase of settlement expansion and placing a definitive end to any real possibility of establishing a sovereign Palestinian state.
Under these decisions, a Palestinian would no longer be able to build even a single room on his own land without the approval of the Zionist occupying authorities. At the same time, every Jewish settler who chooses to seize a plot of land or a farm that appeals to him will be granted facilitation, encouragement, and funding. The entity, according to the sources, is officially moving forward with unconditioned and unlimited settlement expansion, actively supporting, protecting, and promoting settlers in their takeover of Palestinian land.
The decisions were passed amid shocking Arab silence and an unprecedented wave of normalization, a context that Palestinian and Arab observers say has emboldened the occupying power to proceed without restraint.
Repeal of the Jordanian Legal Barrier
For decades, the Jordanian law issued in 1953 served as a legal obstacle preventing Palestinians from selling their land to Jewish settlers. The law, which remained in force despite the Israeli occupation, criminalized the sale of Palestinian land to Jews under severe penalties.
Palestinian legal sources confirm that repealing this law effectively removes the last legal cover protecting Palestinian land. Under the new decision, Palestinians would no longer need to manipulate documents or rely on intermediaries to sell their land; the process would become direct, public, and “legal” from the occupation’s perspective, in accordance with new replacement laws that serve the occupier and provide yet another mechanism to expand control over additional Palestinian territory.
Even more dangerous, according to observers following legal developments, is the decision to “lift confidentiality from land records.” While appearing administrative on the surface, this step opens vast geographic and ownership data to Zionist settlers and settlement organizations actively engaged in land seizure. It enables them to efficiently target strategic lands. What previously took place gradually over decades could now, they warn, occur on a large scale within weeks or even days.
Stripping Al-Khalil of Its Islamic Identity
The strategic dimension of these decisions is particularly evident in al-Khalil, the historic city of profound religious and cultural significance. Under the new measures, planning, construction, and oversight powers in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque are being withdrawn from the Palestinian municipality and transferred entirely to what is called as the Zionist “Civil Administration,” a military-civil body overseeing construction and settlement activities.
Arab sources describe this move as amounting to the “complete Judaization” of the Ibrahimi Mosque and its surroundings. A Palestinian will now require Zionist authorization to build even a single room on his own land, while Jewish settlers—defined under international law as occupiers—are granted unprecedented facilities for construction and expansion, along with full protection from the Zionist army and authorities.
Palestinian sources further assert that the new decisions provide “legal legitimacy,” according to the occupier’s perspective, to practices that have been occurring for years. In al-Khalil, Palestinians will now require prior approval from the Zionist authorities even to bury their dead in family cemeteries. Zionist forces have fired tear gas at funeral processions, dispersed mourners, and even decided to cancel or postpone burials or change the designated burial site.
Dismantling Oslo and Burying the Negotiation Track
The impact of these decisions extends beyond al-Khalil to Areas “A” and “B,” as designated under the Oslo Accords—areas that were supposed to fall under full or shared Palestinian control. Under the new measures, Zionist authorities are expanding their powers of oversight and demolition to include these areas, effectively nullifying what remains of the settlement agreements and the political track that produced them.
Observers describe the decisions as “the final nail in the coffin of Oslo.” The agreement, once viewed as a transitional phase toward statehood, has now become a tool for fragmenting the West Bank, consolidating occupation, and imposing a reality shaped entirely by Zionist authorities. With expanded Zionist jurisdiction in Areas “A” and “B,” talk of a “Palestinian Authority” becomes, in this view, merely nominal, lacking substantive meaning or real presence.
Northern West Bank: Another Model
In the northern West Bank, the outline of the broader plan is already visible. In the town of Burqa, north of Nablus, where the archaeological site of Al-Masoudiya lies along the historic Hejaz railway line, Zionist authorities are preventing Palestinians from accessing extensive archaeological and agricultural areas.
Field sources report that land confiscations in the north cover vast tracts, some containing significant historical and cultural heritage. Under the new decisions, Palestinians will be barred from approaching these sites, let alone cultivating them or grazing their livestock there.
“The objective is gradual displacement.” The ongoing settlement expansion and annexation process in the West Bank indicates that "whoever is denied access to their land, prevented from cultivation, and restricted from grazing will ultimately be forced to abandon it."
Declaration of the Death of the “Two-State Solution”
A careful political reading of the latest Zionist measures suggests that they constitute an explicit declaration of the end of the Palestinian state project. The broad de facto annexation being carried out through daily settlement expansion and land seizure renders any discussion of a “contiguous state” practically meaningless.
Zionist officials have been quoted as saying that “the era of the second-class citizen has ended,” referring to settlers who will enjoy full rights and protection. In contrast, Palestinians, according to this portrayal, risk becoming “third-class citizens” at best—or “strangers” in their own land at worst.
Silence Fueled by Normalization
These developments unfold within a troubling regional context. In previous decades, similar steps would have ignited regional tensions and prompted strong reactions. Today, however, Arab regimes are immersed in a state of normalization, marked by weakness and indifference.
Arab diplomatic sources indicate that accelerating normalization has significantly weakened the Arab position. Decisions that might once have been considered a “declaration of war” now pass with little to no reaction, while regional alliances with the occupying entity continue at an unprecedented pace.
According to these assessments, the latest decisions by the Zionist Cabinet do not merely legalize settlement expansion but also legitimize, from the occupier’s perspective, displacement, uprooting, and annexation. They not only repeal the Jordanian law but also extinguish any hope of achieving justice or a fair settlement, closing the windows of hope through which proponents of normalization once envisioned “coexistence” and a “two-state solution.”
Escalation and Arab Absence
In the absence of an effective Arab or international response, the occupying entity appears determined to proceed with its plan to “reshape geography by force,” ultimately aiming at the full annexation of the West Bank and the elimination of any meaningful Palestinian presence on the land.
Despite the gravity of these steps, the Arab stance is neither alarmed nor even attentive, remaining immersed in normalization. In another era, such decisions would have been regarded as a declaration of war, prompting military mobilization before political rhetoric.
Meanwhile, Zionist officials are celebrating the move. The so-called "Minister of Defense" boasts of "strengthening the "Israeli" grip on “Judea and Samaria,” while the so-called Zionist "Minister of Finance" declares that the era of the second-class citizen—referring to settlers—has ended. The Zionist "Settlements Council" has hailed the measures as the greatest breakthrough in fifty-eight years.
For Palestinians and many Arab observers, however, these decisions represent a historic downfall—one that reshapes the conflict’s trajectory and deepens the ongoing catastrophe that has persisted for seven decades.
