The State submitted a special request to the High Court of Justice (HCJ), indicating that it intends to use the land registration procedure, which was approved by the Cabinet on Sunday, as a “legalization track” for illegal settler construction on Palestinian lands. Through this procedure, the State seeks to seize Palestinian lands that, until now, could not be declared as state land under the existing “state land declaration” processes.
In August 2022, a ruling was issued in a petition submitted by residents of the village of A-Sawiya through attorney Tawfiq Jabareen (HCJ 3189/11). The court ruled that the State must evacuate illegal structures in the settlement of Eli that were built on private land, by May 15, 2025. Last night, just two days before the court-mandated evacuation date, the State submitted a “request to postpone the execution of the judgment,” asking that the evacuation be delayed by two years. During those two years, the State plans to implement the land registration procedure approved by the cabinet and, if the status of the land changes, it will seek to legalize the construction instead of demolishing it.
This request reveals the far-reaching implications of the cabinet’s decision to initiate land registration procedures in the West Bank. Since 1967, Israel has used a harsh legal interpretation of the Ottoman Land Law to seize nearly one million dunams in the West Bank through “state land declarations.” Under this procedure, Israel surveyed vast areas of the West Bank and declared non-cultivated lands as state land. This process applied only to lands that were uncultivated (or only partially cultivated).
In contrast to the state land declaration process, the land regisration procedure can apply to any land, including cultivated land. Under the registration procedure, Palestinians will be required to prove ownership to an exceptionally high standard of proof—requiring documentation and information they typically do not possess—in order to register the land in their name. In every case where Palestinians fail to meet this standard, the land will automatically be registered in the name of the State.
The State justifies its request to postpone the evacuation until the registration process is completed by arguing that there is a “significant likelihood that the land will be registered as state land” (Section 21 of the State’s request).
Additional Information from the Cabinet Decision
The State’s request and the text of the cabinet decision attached to it reveal further details beyond what was published in the government’s press release:
A. The government allocated 4 million NIS and two positions to the Ministry of Justice for 2025, to launch the process, draft necessary legislation, etc. At the same time, the government tasked various agencies with preparing a work plan for implementing the registration procedure within 60 days. Based on that plan, budgets will be allocated to carry out the process.
B. The State’s request details the mechanism to be established for the implementation of the land settlement:
* Appointment of a land settlement officer,
* Publication of a “settlement area” (the area where the procedure will begin),
* Compilation of a claims register (listing everyone claiming ownership within the area),
* Hearings on the various claims,
* Preparation of a rights register (which determines who owns each parcel of land).
* Establishment of a special registration tribunal that will discuss objections to the rights register and determine the final registration.
The final registration will be recorded in the Land Registry by the Civil Administration’s land registration officer.
C. Obstruction of the Palestinian Authority’s registration efforts – The cabinet decision states that not only do the Palestinian Authority’s land settlement and registration activities in Area C carry no legal weight and cannot be relied upon in any procedure, but the cabinet also aims to actively block the continuation of these efforts. This includes: Preventing professionals and surveyors from entering lands, and preventing foreign entities from providing financial assistance for land registration.
Additionally, the cabinet instructs the IDF Chief of Staff, the head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the head of the Mossad to provide the Ministry of Finance with information on funds the Palestinian Authority has invested in land registration efforts. The Finance Minister is tasked with examining ways to deduct or freeze these sums from the import tax revenues that Israel is supposed to transfer to the Palestinian Authority.
For the full text of the cabinet decision (in Hebrew) – click here.