RAMALLAH, August 25, 2026 (WAFA) – The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said today that the Israeli occupation authorities have approved 18 new and amended colonial jurisdiction areas in the West Bank.
In a press statement issued today, the Commission said the package includes jurisdiction areas for new colonies approved by the Israeli Cabinet, as well as areas aimed at transforming existing colonial outposts into independent colonies, in addition to amendments and expansions to the jurisdiction areas of existing colonies and colonial councils.
The Commission explained that approving a jurisdiction area defines the geographical space within which a colony or colonial council exercises its administrative and municipal powers.
It said that while the decision itself does not result in the expropriation of land or grant immediate construction permits, it establishes the administrative and planning basis for future expansion. According to the Commission, it turns land falling within the jurisdiction area into a planning reserve for the colony, allowing for the preparation of new structural and detailed plans, the expansion of road, water, electricity, and sewage networks, and the incorporation of projects into government budgets, eventually leading to the issuance of tenders and the commencement of construction.
Regarding targeted Palestinian-owned land in these areas, the Commission explained that incorporating it into or surrounding it with colonial settlement jurisdictions places it under increasing planning and administrative pressure. While this does not automatically strip owners of their property rights, it severely restricts Palestinian construction, agriculture, access, and development, it explained.
The Commission noted that the decision paves the way for the subsequent use of other measures, such as declaring land "state land," expropriation, issuing seizure orders, or allocating land to colonial councils.
The Commission pointed out that, in many cases, a jurisdiction area extends several times beyond a colony's actual built-up area, demonstrating that the objective is not to regulate the existing situation, but rather to reserve land in advance for future expansion at the expense of Palestinian-owned land and surrounding Palestinian villages.
The Commission explained that this policy does not just increase the number of colonies; it redraws the administrative geography of the West Bank, links existing colonies with new outposts, and blocks additional areas from Palestinian urban and economic development.
The Commission stressed that the new package of decisions indicates a shift in the colonial project from establishment and political recognition to administrative land demarcation. It explained that a Cabinet decision grants a colonial settlement political status, while a jurisdiction order defines its spatial and administrative scope, followed by the plans, roads, and budgets that turn it into a permanent reality.
The Commission added that jurisdiction areas, in this sense, constitute a tool for administrative annexation and land appropriation, expanding the powers of Israeli institutions within Palestinian land while leaving the signature of the "military commander" as a formal cover for a process led by Israeli ministries and colonial councils.
T.R.
