Israel approves controversial West Bank settlement expansion, Palestine condemns

Israel's security cabinet approved decisions on Sunday to deepen Israel's control over the occupied West Bank and the expansion of the Jewish settlement there, reported Xinhua, quoting a minister.

Among the controversial measures approved, the cabinet ordered the repeal of a Jordanian-era law that banned land sales to Jews, removed the requirement for special transaction permits, and renewed a state land acquisition committee that ceased operating around 20 years ago, read a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key pro-settlement minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.

Smotrich said the decisions marked a "historic day" for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, arguing that they would enable Jews to acquire land in the occupied territory under simpler conditions.

The Palestinian presidency on Sunday described the decisions as "illegal, null and void," saying that they constitute "the practical implementation of annexation and displacement plans" and violate agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, international law and UN resolutions, according to official news agency WAFA.

The presidency called on the international community to intervene immediately to halt the measures, which it said threaten efforts to reduce regional tensions.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned Israel's "desperate attempts" to alter the legal status and character of the occupied Palestinian territory, calling the actions "criminal."

"Israel has no sovereignty over any of the occupied Palestinian territories or cities ... has no legal right to repeal or amend existing laws, including Jordanian laws and legislation that are part of the Palestinian legal system," the ministry said.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War. The settlements it has built there, and its military occupation, are considered illegal under international law.

Palestinian officials have repeatedly warned that measures expanding settlements and extending Israeli civilian authority in the West Bank undermine prospects for a future Palestinian state.