Israel and the Logic of Creeping Annexation: The Most Dangerous Settlement Decisions in 58 Years

The Israeli government, through the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs (the Cabinet), has approved a package of decisions and budgets considered the most dangerous since 1967, according to the description of the Settlement Council itself, which deemed them a practical declaration that "the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people" and a consolidation of Israeli sovereignty over the land de facto. This development constitutes a pivotal station in the path of annexation and settlement, not as a transient measure, but as a fully-fledged strategic option.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper confirms that the government has allocated millions of shekels to what is called "Hill Management," i.e., the random settlement outposts that are gradually being transformed into self-sufficient settlements.

This step represents a central tool in the policy of "creeping annexation," based on creating accumulated facts on the ground, without official declaration, but ultimately producing actual sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian land.

The danger of these decisions lies in their being a direct continuation of the "Nation-State Law of the Jewish People" approved by the Knesset in 2018, which granted constitutional cover for discrimination and denied the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people. Therefore, what is happening today is not an emergency deviation in Israeli policy, but a practical translation of an ideological structure that views the land as an exclusive right and Palestinians as an existence without sovereign rights.

From the perspective of international law, these policies represent a blatant violation of peremptory norms that are beyond dispute.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is occupied territory according to international humanitarian law and is subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of the population of the occupying power to occupied territories.

Moreover, Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2334, affirm the illegality of settlements and the nullity of any measures aimed at changing the legal or demographic status of the occupied territories.

Despite this, the Israeli government continues to defy international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, disregarding all efforts aimed at achieving a just peace. Settlement and annexation policies empty the talk of a "two-state solution" of its content, transforming the West Bank into isolated islands, while Jerusalem is encircled by a suffocating settlement belt, practically eliminating any possibility of a viable Palestinian state.

More dangerously, these decisions do not threaten Palestinians alone but undermine regional stability as a whole. Expanding occupation does not produce security but accumulates reasons for explosion.

Denying the national rights of the Palestinian people will not impose a permanent reality but opens the door to further tension and violence, keeping the region hostage to an open conflict.

What is happening today confirms, beyond any doubt, that Israel acts as a state above the law, seeing itself immune from international accountability. This behavior not only threatens peace prospects but strikes at the foundations of the international system based on respect for rules and law.

In the face of this reality, the responsibility of the international community becomes a legal and moral responsibility that cannot be postponed.

Statements of concern are no longer sufficient; what is required is a serious transition from managing the conflict to holding the occupation accountable and enforcing respect for international law, to protect international peace and security.

As for the Palestinian people, despite the magnitude of the challenges, they reaffirm once again that rights do not lapse with time, and that annexation and settlement projects, no matter how great, will not grant legitimacy to the occupation, nor will they negate a fixed truth: that this land has a people, and this people continues its legitimate struggle in defense of its right to its homeland.