Qatar blasts cabinet decision on West Bank land registration

Qatar condemns the cabinet’s opening of a land registration process in the West Bank for the first time since 1967, calling it “an extension of its illegal plans to deprive the Palestinian people of their rights.”

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stresses “the need for international solidarity to pressure the occupation to halt the implementation of the decision to avoid its serious repercussions.”

The registration process will allow the registration of land with the Land Registration Authority if it is not currently registered as privately owned. Ministers who initiated the step say it will enable the registration of broad swaths of land to the state.

Without elaborating, the Foreign Ministry claims that “the Palestinian Authority is currently advancing illegal land registration procedures in Area C, in violation of the law and existing agreements.

“Contrary to misinformation spread by inciting parties, the Israeli government today approved an administrative measure within the fields of civil and property law,” the ministry says on X. “This measure is designed to bring order to land registration procedures, enabling a transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes.”

While the Oslo Accords Israel and the PA signed in the 1990s placed the 60 percent of the West Bank that is Area C under Israeli security and administrative control, it stated that the territory should be gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction.

While stopping short of formally annexing the entire territory amid opposition from US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has passed a slew of measures aimed at cementing Israel’s control over Area C — along with other parts of the West Bank.