Silent Annexation: How Administrative Tools of Occupation Strip Palestinians of Sovereignty in the West Bank

The city of Hebron, the largest city in the occupied West Bank, is facing a new phase of administrative tightening following the election of Yousef Al-Ja'bari as its mayor, where he found himself stripped of basic powers related to planning and construction. These restrictions are concentrated around the Ibrahimi Mosque, the most sensitive area, after the occupation authorities decided to withdraw these tasks from the Palestinian side and transfer them to Israeli officials unilaterally.

This step comes within the context of a broader policy pursued by Benjamin Netanyahu's government, aimed at strengthening the influence of the settler minority within the heart of Palestinian cities. Observers believe that this shift represents a dramatic acceleration in the gradual annexation operations that have continued for decades, but have now moved from de facto annexation through settlement outposts to legal and official annexation through changes in administrative laws.

Sources reported that the recent changes led by the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich aim to transfer authority from military rule to Israeli civilian administration. This shift practically means eliminating the need for military approval for land purchases, and granting the Ministry of Justice in the occupation state full control over land registries in most parts of the occupied West Bank.

These legal amendments allow Israeli officials to take direct executive measures, including demolishing properties and intervening in water issues and environmental risks in areas historically managed by the Palestinian Authority. These measures are considered a direct undermining of what remains of the foundations of the Oslo Accords, as they remove the legal barriers that prevented the full annexation of lands.

Data from human rights organizations indicate that the current occupation government has approved the establishment of 102 new settlements in less than four years, which is almost double the number of settlements that existed before it took power. One of the most dangerous of these projects is the 'E1' settlement, which threatens to separate the north of the West Bank from its south, thereby eliminating any chance for the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state.

In parallel with settlement expansion, the occupation authorities have intensified their economic pressures on the Palestinian Authority, leading Palestinian officials to warn of an imminent financial collapse. Palestinian Finance Minister, Estephan Salameh, stated that the goal of this financial blockade is to create a political and administrative vacuum that facilitates the final annexation of the West Bank amidst a lack of real international pressure.

On the ground, the pace of settler violence has escalated unprecedentedly, with the United Nations documenting over 1800 attacks in the past year alone. These assaults occur in a climate of impunity, leading to the martyrdom of 13 Palestinians since the beginning of this year, including children who were killed by direct settler fire in West Bank villages.

This systematic violence has led to the forced displacement of 36 Palestinian communities entirely over the past three years, in addition to the partial displacement of dozens of other communities. Analysts confirm that the goal of these attacks is to force Palestinians to voluntarily leave their lands to facilitate state control over them and later allocate them for settlement projects.

New administrative changes include funding for re-launching the land registration process in Area 'C', a process that has been halted since 1967. Activists warn that demanding Palestinians to prove ownership of their lands under impossible conditions will automatically lead to the conversion of vast areas of private property into 'state lands' belonging to the occupation.

According to legal experts, the burden of proof in the new laws has shifted to the Palestinian citizen, so any land whose owner cannot prove private ownership immediately goes to the occupation. This new legal system aims to 'normalize' the lives of settlers and make them citizens enjoying all Israeli civil rights over the occupied territories.

Former officials in the occupation's security apparatus expressed their shock at the extent of violence against Palestinian villages, with a former head of Mossad describing what he saw in those villages as reminding him of tragic historical events. Nevertheless, the government continues to provide political and legal cover for these practices aimed at radically changing the demography of the region.

Deep concern prevails in the Palestinian street that these measures are a prelude to mass displacement operations, especially with statements from ministers in the occupation government openly calling for encouraging Palestinian emigration. Activists in Hebron say that the fear of a 'second Nakba' now accompanies residents amidst the absence of international protection and the encroachment of settlers.

Control over land registries and making them public, along with lifting the ban on selling them to non-Arabs, opens the door for settlement companies to acquire strategic areas. These silent administrative steps are considered more dangerous than direct military operations, because they create a legal reality that is difficult to reverse in the future.

Ultimately, the occupation's strategy appears clear in transforming the West Bank into isolated cantons managed by Palestinian municipalities stripped of powers, while the Israeli civilian administration controls resources and land. This system entrenches an administrative 'apartheid' reality that seeks to eliminate any Palestinian national aspirations for independence and sovereignty.

They are creating a municipality within a municipality, stripping us of our powers, and not respecting the agreements they signed.