Why it matters:
Palestinians view the bill as part of a systematic campaign to erase their presence in the West Bank and Al-Quds.
By legalizing settler land purchases, the measure threatens to normalize dispossession and undermine the international consensus that the West Bank is an occupied territory.
Human rights groups warn it could entrench apartheid-like conditions, where Palestinians are denied equal access to land and resources.
The big picture:
The draft law is seen as a continuation of Israel’s broader annexation and expansionism, linking military offensives, settlement expansion, and legal changes to cement permanent dominance over Palestinian land.
For Palestinians, this represents not just a property dispute but an existential struggle over sovereignty, identity, and the right to remain on their land.
What's happening:
Submitted by Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, Otzma; Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, and Religious Zionism MK Moshe Solon, the measure passed the committee stage with four votes in favor and none opposed. It cancels a Jordanian regulation from 1953 that restricts property sales to non-Arabs.
What they're saying:
In a press statement, Hamas declared the law 'null, void, and illegitimate,' insisting it will not erase Palestinian identity or rights, and urged the Arab League and UN institutions to take immediate action against flagrant violations of international law.
What's next:
The proposal must pass three readings in the Knesset before becoming law, and no timeline has been set for its first reading in the plenum.
Go deeper:
According to Palestinian monitoring groups, settlers have already taken control of more than 700,000 dunams (roughly 175,000 acres) of Palestinian land since 1967, often through state-backed expropriation, military orders, or settlement expansion. The new bill is seen as a legal mechanism to accelerate this process.
Knesset Committee Advances Bill Easing Settler Property Ownership in West Bank
Hossein Amiri - A.Akbari
