The Palestinian Authority today strongly condemned Israel's plan to establish a digital land registration system in the occupied West Bank, calling it a “dangerous colonial land grab and a direct attack on the historic and legal rights of Palestinians to their land and property.”
According to a statement from the Palestinian Land Authority, Israel launched the “Land Registration and Title Resolution” platform on February 15, 2026, purportedly to “update” land ownership records in the West Bank. The Jerusalem Governorate and the Colonization and Wall Resistance Committee (CRRC) urged Palestinians not to engage with any Israeli “entity, committee, platform, or procedure” related to land and property.
The CRRC, which is part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said the move signals “a shift from traditional on-the-ground control policies to digital and administrative colonial management techniques, aimed at imposing permanent legal facts on occupied Palestinian territory.”
Earlier, in May 2025, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved a new land settlement process across the West Bank, with the goal of completing legal and administrative annexation of the occupied territories. In July 2025, the Israeli parliament passed a symbolic resolution calling for the annexation of the West Bank.
Specifically, starting February 15, 2026, Israel began the permanent confiscation and registration of approximately 58% of Area C — the part of the West Bank under full Israeli control. This marks the first time since 1967 that Palestinians must register land at the Israeli “Tabu” (land registry). The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom described it as a final measure that would be difficult to appeal in Israeli courts.
The Israeli Land Registration Unit will take over the management and registration of land ownership in Area C and will have the authority to issue permits for land sales and collect fees. Israel's goal is to complete the settlement of 15% of the West Bank by the end of 2030.
Currently, about 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Human rights organizations say the approval of settlements and settler violence against Palestinian communities has surged since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.
