UN rapporteur warns Israel’s West Bank land measures 'will consolidate annexation'
Francesca Albanese says expanded land registration in occupied territory could violate international law and deepen unlawful occupation
GENEVA
The UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories warned Wednesday that Israel’s decision to expand land expropriation measures in the occupied West Bank could consolidate annexation, potentially amount to aggression under international law, and further entrench what the world's highest court has deemed an unlawful occupation.
Francesca Albanese was reacting to measures ratified by Israel’s Security Cabinet on Feb. 8 to facilitate expanded land registration and property acquisition in the occupied territory.
"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," Albanese said in a statement.
She warned that they would "deepen and entrench an occupation that the world’s highest court (International Court of Justice) has determined to be unlawful."
According to the rapporteur, the changes make it easier for Israeli nationals and foreigners to acquire property in settlements, accelerating what she described as territorial conquest. Opening land registries to public claims, she said, renders Palestinian landowners increasingly vulnerable to pressure, dispossession, and coercive transfer.
Albanese stressed that annexation of occupied territory is categorically prohibited under international law, citing Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and the Fourth Geneva Convention. She also referred to the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice confirming the illegality of Israel’s settlement policy and clarifying that all states must neither recognize nor assist the situation.
"Annexation does not produce stability," she said. "It produces systemic discrimination, dispossession, and permanent subjugation."
She urged states to refrain from recognition, withhold assistance, and take effective measures to bring the occupation to an end.
Israel has intensified operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since launching its military campaign in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. Palestinians view the escalation – including killings, arrests, displacement, and settlement expansion – as a step toward formal annexation of the territory.
