Why it matters:
The move represents another step in what rights experts describe as Israel’s systematic expansion of illegal settlements, further entrenching an occupation the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared unlawful.
The big picture:
Israel’s so-called security cabinet on February 8 ratified measures to expand land registration and facilitate property acquisition in the occupied West Bank.
The steps are widely seen as accelerating settlement expansion and tightening Israeli control over Palestinian land.
The ICJ ruled in July 2024 that Israel’s settlement policy violates international law and that states must neither recognize nor assist the illegal situation.
What she’s saying:
Francesca Albanese:
“These measures are not routine administrative adjustments. They are deliberate, incremental steps toward permanent annexation, advanced piece by piece, in broad daylight, and with total impunity.”
“They deepen and entrench an occupation that the world’s highest court has determined to be unlawful.”
“Annexation does not produce stability. It produces systemic discrimination, dispossession, and permanent subjugation.”
Albanese stressed that annexation of occupied territory is explicitly prohibited under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Go deeper:
The ICJ advisory opinion of July 2024 reaffirmed the illegality of Israel’s occupation and settlement expansion.
Albanese called on states to withhold recognition, avoid providing support, and take effective measures to end the occupation.
Human rights groups say continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state and entrenches a system of permanent inequality.
Mojtaba Darabi
