Israeli Knesset moves to assert sovereignty over West Bank
A resolution by the Israeli Knesset has called for the application of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, a move seen as a further step towards annexation, writes Monjed Jadou from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In a move widely condemned by Palestinian leaders as a serious escalation and a direct threat to any remaining hopes for a Palestinian state, the Israeli Knesset last week approved a non-binding declarative resolution to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied West Bank, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The declaration refers to the areas of “Judea and Samaria” and the Jordan Valley, terms used by the Israeli authorities for Palestinian land occupied since 1967.
The resolution passed by a vote of 71 in favour to 13 against in a politically charged session aimed at reinforcing Israel’s right-wing annexation agenda. It signals the Israeli Coalition Government’s intention to reshape the situation on the ground, amid growing international inertia.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) strongly denounced the decision, describing it as a “declaration of war” against Palestinian rights and the effective end of any political horizon based on a two-state solution.
“This resolution reveals the true face of the occupation government,” said Palestinian Presidential Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh. “It demonstrates their absolute rejection of peace and their commitment instead to expanding settlements and deepening apartheid policies on the ground.”
Hamas also condemned the move as a “direct assault” on Palestinian land and called for increased resistance against what it labelled “creeping annexation.”
On the ground, Palestinians expressed growing concern that the declaration could pave the way for accelerated settlement construction, home demolitions, and forced displacement, particularly in Area C of the West Bank.
Ahmed Subh, head of the Political Committee of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, told Al-Ahram Weekly that while the resolution lacks legal enforcement, it continues a pattern of Israeli measures aimed at de facto annexation.
“This is not the first step,” Subh said. “It follows the 2018 Jewish Nation-State Law, which asserts that the right to self-determination in historic Palestine belongs solely to Jews.”
He added that since the current Israeli government took office in 2023, it has openly pursued what it calls “decisive military action” to eliminate the Palestinian cause. This includes the ongoing war in Gaza, intensifying attacks in the northern West Bank, and a crackdown on civil liberties inside Israel.
Subh warned that these policies, including this latest declaration, aim to forcibly displace Palestinians and create a land “without its people.”
Area C, which makes up roughly 60 per cent of the West Bank, is under full Israeli military and civil control. It contains the majority of Israeli settlements, bypass roads, agricultural land, and natural resources.
Legal experts and political analysts consider the Knesset’s resolution to be a clear breach of international law, including UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 2334, and the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit an occupying power from transferring its population into occupied territory.
Observers say that the declaration lends political legitimacy to Israel’s longstanding strategy of settlement expansion and territorial control. They warn of increased home demolitions, especially in the Jordan Valley, Khirbet Humsa, and Khan Al-Ahmar, as well as the continued denial of Palestinian construction permits.
The resolution is expected to solidify plans to expand Israeli infrastructure, effectively isolating Palestinian communities into disconnected enclaves.
Mohamed Al-Taj, a senior member of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF), called the Knesset’s vote a dangerous step towards the full erasure of the Palestinian cause.
“This is not merely a symbolic act,” he told the Weekly. “It is a structured attempt to turn a temporary occupation into permanent sovereignty, undermining any hope of a two-state solution and institutionalising apartheid.”
He described the move as “a legal veneer for ongoing settlement expansion, ethnic cleansing, and silent displacement.”
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