Israel approves new process to register West Bank land as state property

The Israeli cabinet has approved a new policy to restart the process of registering land in the occupied West Bank as Israeli state land. This is the first time such a process has been authorized since 1967, effectively ending a decades-long freeze.

Critics, including Palestinian officials and human rights groups, have described the move as a 'massive land grab' and a step toward 'de facto annexation' of the territory. The policy allows the government to formally claim ownership of land where Palestinian ownership is not officially documented.