As Israeli parties brace themselves for a third elections in less than a year, the competition over
securing the support of settlers continues at the expense of the rights of Palestinians. Promoting steps
that escalate the aggressive annexation campaign led by successive Israeli governments has proved to
be a winning tactic ahead of every electoral campaign. To further appeal to his settler base and to
consolidate the de jure annexation of Area C, interim Defense Minister Naftali Bennet, the leader of
the far-right Jewish Home Party, announced a tentative plan to transfer land registration in Area C
from the Israeli Civil Administration to the Israeli Ministry of Justice.
In response to these threats, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC) sent a letter
to the Israeli Attorney-General reiterating the illegality of this potential measure.
According to the letter written by JLAC’s attorney Sliman Shahin, the measure seeks to ameliorate
the status of settlers in the West Bank in all aspects related to land and planning. This step is part of a
parcel of the de facto annexation policies in the West Bank, particularly in Area C, paving the way
for their de jure annexation.
This policy flagrantly violates international humanitarian law and international human rights law and
even the Oslo accords.
In addition to its contravention with international law, such a measure violates Israeli law, as it does
not fall within the mandate of an interim government. It is not an urgent issue but rather a measure
aimed at significantly altering the legal status of land registration and thus cannot be taken by an
interim government.
Since this measure has only been publicized in media reports, the letter demanded a formal response
from the Attorney-General on whether the Minister has taken any practical steps (i.e. legislation,
military orders, o