Who actually controls this? West Bank? That can hardly be answered in one sentence. And when answering this question, if you look not at the de facto control on the ground but at the legal situation, the answer becomes even more complicated.
The Israeli security cabinet on Sunday waved through several regulations that further complicate or simplify the answer – depending on your perspective. They stipulate that the West Bank land register will become public. This makes it possible to publicly see who owns what in the area. This information was previously considered “classified”.
In addition, “The Law on Renting and Selling Real Estate to Foreigners, No. 40, 1953” is abolished. Ordinated by Jordan at the time, it prohibited people who were not Jordanians or Arabs from buying land. Since 1971, there has been an Israeli law that allows companies to buy land in the West Bank – regardless of who owns the company or who ultimately benefits from the purchases.
Ottoman, Jordanian, Israeli law
But why has a Jordanian law actually applied in the West Bank so far? Let’s start from the beginning: Before the founding of Israel in 1948, the area was part of the British Mandate of Palestine. At that time, the British rulers partially adopted the laws of their predecessors – the Ottomans. Ottoman law continued to apply in many areas, plus British regulations.
After the founding of the state – and the associated war with neighboring Arab states as well as the expulsion and flight of large parts of the Palestinian population – the area came under Jordanian control. And therefore also under Jordanian law.
Then Israel conquered Six-Day War 1967 this area. In contrast to East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, which came under Israeli control at the same time, the West Bank has not yet been officially annexed. But is still under military occupation. Israeli military law still applies to the Palestinian population there today.
Just a few weeks after the Six-Day War, Israeli settlement of the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem began. The residents of these settlements – now half a million in the West Bank alone – are governed by Israeli civil law.
Since there is still no state in the West Bank area – since Israel has not officially annexed the area – a mix of the legal systems of the past applies. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to land and property rights.
Mix of legal systems
To this day, Ottoman land law, supplemented by British regulations and Jordanian laws, as well as Israel’s military law, still applies. The allocation of land to Israeli settlements also takes place within the framework of these existing legal systems.
So far, the transfer and purchase of land in the West Bank for the benefit of Israelis and settlements has been legally possible. However, the regulations now in force could simplify the process considerably. And thereby further strengthen Israeli control over the entire area.
One possibility is to use military orders to confiscate land for “security reasons”. This also works with Palestinian private land. An example: In 1972, land was confiscated from Palestinians in the villages of Furush Beit Dajan and Beit Furiq near Nablus; today it is home to the Hamra settlement.
Another: land that was classified as “state land” under British and Jordanian control is also classified as such under Israeli control. According to the Israeli non-governmental organization Kerem Navot, around 14 percent of the area in the West Bank was added in the 1980s and 1990s. They were declared as state land and can therefore also be allocated to settlements by the state.
In addition, Israel wants to expand its “monitoring and enforcement measures for violations of water protection regulations, damage to archaeological sites and environmental hazards” to “Areas A and B”. The West Bank is divided into areas A, B and C, with A and B currently under the civil administration of the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinians and observers fear that alleged violations of environmental regulations, for example, will be used to expand Israeli control over Areas A and B. What this could look like can be seen in the C areas: Palestinians who legally own land there must submit applications for development to the Israeli authority Cogat. But these are almost never approved. According to the Bikom organization, 2,550 applications were submitted by Palestinians between 2016 and 2021. Only 24 were accepted – less than one percent.