Israel has approved a historic and highly controversial plan to register large parts of the occupied West Bank as “state property,” marking the first such move since its occupation of the territory in 1967. The sweeping proposal, driven by powerful far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Yariv Levin and Israel Katz, could fundamentally reshape land ownership and territorial control across the region. Under the new policy, vast areas of Area C, which remain under full Israeli administrative and security control, may be formally registered under Israeli state ownership unless Palestinians can present documented proof of historical ownership. However, most Palestinian land claims were never formally recorded after Israel halted land registration following the 1967 war, leaving many families unable to legally defend their property rights. WATCH
