February 08, 2026
Katz and Smotrich announce moves to expand Israeli oversight of areas A and B, let Israelis buy land in West Bank, and boost Israeli authority over Tomb of the Patriarchs compound.
Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday announced a series of security cabinet decisions to “dramatically” change land registration and property acquisition procedures in the West Bank, easing Jewish settlement in the territory.
The decisions “are intended to remove decades-old barriers, repeal discriminatory Jordanian legislation, and enable accelerated development of settlement on the ground,” the two ministers said in a joint statement.
In response, the Palestinian Authority condemned the move and called for UN and US intervention. Hamas called for a “rebellion across the West Bank and Jerusalem” and the “escalation” of the conflict “by all available means,” while urging Arab and Muslim states to cut ties to Israel.
The approved plan ordered the publication of land registries in the West Bank, according to the statement, meaning that property lists will be open to the public, and potential buyers will be able to identify landowners and approach them for purchasing. Until now, land registration in the West Bank had been classified.
The cabinet action also repealed a legal provision that prevented non-Muslims from buying real estate in the area — a law left over from the period when Jordan controlled the territory. Until the cabinet’s approval, Jews could acquire land only through companies registered in the area rather than privately.
Alongside this, the requirement for a transaction license from the land-registration officer has been canceled, to be replaced by “professional threshold conditions only, removing a major obstacle in the local real estate market,” the statement added.
The new arrangement will “allow Jews to purchase land in Judea and Samaria just as they purchase [land] in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem,” it said, using biblical terminology for the regions that make up the West Bank.
It was also decided to expand oversight and enforcement activities into areas A and B with regard to water violations, damage to archaeological sites, and environmental hazards that pollute the entire territory, the statement said.
According to the Oslo II Accords, signed in 1995 by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank is divided into three areas, A, B and C. While Area C is under full Israeli control, Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, and Area A is under full Palestinian control.
Israel to expand control over Tomb of the Patriarchs
Additionally, the plan approved Sunday would transfer authority over building permits for the Jewish settlement in Hebron — including at the highly contested Tomb of the Patriarchs site — from the Hebron municipality, which is subordinate to the Palestinian Authority, to Israel.
The site is believed to be the burial place of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca and Leah.
Until now, in accordance with the 1997 Hebron Agreement, any construction changes in the Jewish community had to pass through both the municipality and the Civil Administration. With the cabinet’s approval, such changes will now require authorization only from Israel’s defense establishment.
The decisions Sunday will also affect the site of Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem by establishing “a dedicated municipal authority” responsible for cleaning and routine maintenance of the holy site.
The measures were not brought for approval by the full cabinet but rather to the security cabinet, whose members have broadly called for applying sovereignty in the West Bank. Reversal of these decisions would involve significant legal complexity.