RAMALLAH, August 14, 2026 (WAFA) — The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said on Friday that Israeli Army Minister Israel Katz's directive to the Israeli occupation army to prepare a plan to transfer law-enforcement powers over civil cases involving colonists in the West Bank to the Israeli police represents an advanced stage in the gradual administrative and legal annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.

In an assessment issued on Friday, the commission said the directive has not yet entered into force, as no military order, legislation or implementing regulations have been issued to define the scope of the transfer or mechanisms for its implementation.  

The commission said the directive seeks to make law enforcement against colonists a civilian Israeli function, "as inside Israel," completing the transfer of functions related to land, planning and enforcement from military authorities to Israeli civilian institutions, while Palestinians remain subject to military rule and military law.

The commission said Katz linked his directive to the establishment of 104 new colonies and the legalization of colonial farms, as well as an expected increase in the number of colonists. The directive also calls for preparing a plan to transfer the powers, establishing a dedicated force and granting it the necessary authorities and budgets.

It warned that the move could weaken the field response to attacks carried out by colonist gangs, particularly if occupation soldiers withdraw from some initial intervention duties without an immediate and effective police response. This, it said, could give colonists additional time to establish and consolidate colonial outposts on the ground.

The commission said that if the transfer includes powers for immediate intervention, evacuating newly established outposts, closing areas and halting violations, it could weaken the ability of the existing system to stop outposts during their initial stages and turn them into established realities that are difficult to reverse.

It cited events in Qusra, south of Nablus, as an example of the potential risks, noting that colonist groups have managed to besiege Palestinian homes and establish a colonial outpost nearby. It said an operational gap between the army and police could benefit the party capable of imposing a new reality on the ground during the first hours.

The commission said the most likely short-term scenario is a partial and gradual transfer under which the police or so-called Border Guard Police would deal with Israeli colonists while the occupation army retains its existing responsibilities. However, it said the directive's political impact begins before implementation, as it sends a message about the priority given to protecting colonies.

The commission stressed that determining the practical impact of the move requires details of the implementation plan, particularly the definition of the "civil cases" covered by the transfer, the geographic and personal limits of the powers, the chain of command and budget, the police's powers in Areas A and B, and the fate of the army's powers concerning initial intervention and the evacuation of newly established outposts.

It called for international diplomatic and legal action to oppose the move and for continued documentation of developments linking changes in the powers of the occupation army and police to colonial attacks, the establishment of outposts and the displacement of Palestinians.

M.N