Analysts say Israeli changes have cornered Palestinian Authority and will pave way for ethnic cleansing
A large Star of David is mounted atop a building near a watchtower in a new Israeli settlement near Beita, close to Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, 9 February 2026 (Reuters/Ammar Awad)
By Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem and Huthifa Fayyad
M.E.E., 9 February 2026 17:29 GMT
New Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank will cement de facto annexation and bring an end to the Oslo Accords, analysts say, dashing hopes for a Palestinian state.
Announced on Sunday, the sweeping changes expand Israel’s civil control in Areas A and B – where all major Palestinian cities and towns are located – which since the Oslo Accords of 1993 have officially been under Palestinian Authority (PA) jurisdiction.
The measures also make it easier for Jewish Israelis to privately own land in the West Bank, potentially accelerating settlement expansion.
This is achieved by scrapping a law preventing the sale of Palestinian-owned land to Jewish Israelis, easing sales regulations, and lifting the confidentiality of land registration records – a move that could facilitate forgery of land purchase documents, a tactic commonly used by settlers.
“The decision is among the most direct and dangerous steps taken [against Palestinians],” Jamal Juma, a Palestinian coordinator at the Stop the Wall campaign, told Middle East Eye.
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“In effect, it signals the end of everything introduced by the Oslo Accords and strips the Palestinian Authority of its powers.”
‘The new measures effectively reduce the PA to little more than a security agent for Israel’
– Jamal Juma, coordinator at Stop the Wall campaign
Under the new unilaterally imposed arrangements, building licensing and construction in the southern West Bank city of Hebron will also be transferred from Palestinian authorities to the Israeli military.
The transfer would allow Israeli changes in the Old City of Hebron, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, which violates the 1997 Hebron Protocol agreements between Israel and the PA.
Israeli ministers and settler groups hailed the changes.
Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right minister overseeing civilian affairs in the West Bank, vowed after the changes were announced to “continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state”.
Regavim, a pro-settler group, said the new measures “mark a clear break from the Oslo framework”.
The PA and nearly all Palestinian factions condemned the measures, calling them illegal steps aimed at deepening annexation and expanding settlements.
Eight Muslim-majority countries – Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates – denounced the changes, saying they aim to “impose unlawful Israeli sovereignty” in the West Bank.
De facto annexation
For years, Israel has sought to annex the occupied West Bank, with officials and ministers publicly expressing support for such a move.
In July, Israel’s parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for the annexation of the territory.
While the proposal carries no legal weight and does not alter the official status of the West Bank, it is widely seen as a symbolic step designed to build momentum towards future unilateral action.
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However, facing international pressure – especially from its ally, the United States – to avoid official annexation, the current Israeli government has taken several measures that make annexation a de facto reality.
In September, Smotrich unveiled a plan to annex 82 percent of the West Bank and incorporate it into Israel.
He said the plan was prepared by the Settlement Administration within the Ministry of Defence.
The principle behind the plan is to take control of “maximum land with minimum [Palestinian] population,” gradually dismantling the PA, which serves as the internationally recognised governing body in parts of the West Bank.
Juma, a long-time campaigner against settlement expansion, said Israel is advancing annexation on the ground through three parallel and mutually reinforcing tracks: settlement expansion, Palestinian displacement, and legal and administrative restructuring.
Under the current government, which took office in early 2023, settlement expansion has reached its highest level since the UN began tracking such data in 2017.
In 2025 alone, nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tendered, up from around 26,170 in 2024.
By comparison, an average of 12,815 housing units were added annually between 2017 and 2022.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the expansion as “relentless”.
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Juma highlighted that settlement growth is supported by an “enormous” expansion of settler-only infrastructure across the West Bank, including roads, bridges and other projects linking settlements directly to Israel proper.
The West Bank is also experiencing the largest wave of forced displacement in years, driven by military assaults in the north and settler violence.
The changes to legal and administrative frameworks are only part of the broader Israeli policy to create a de facto reality of annexation, according to Juma.
“Settlement expansion, Palestinian displacement, and legal restructuring are advancing in parallel, accelerating the annexation of the West Bank,” he said.
“The latest measures take it further by targeting the future of the Palestinian Authority and governance in the territory.”
PA ‘cornered’
One of the most significant measures introduced on Sunday is the expansion of Israeli civil control into Areas A and B of the West Bank.
Under the stated aims of protecting ancient sites, preventing water-related offences, and addressing environmental hazards, Israeli authorities would now be able to manage civilian affairs directly in major Palestinian cities.
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Services such as waste management and sewage are set to be coordinated directly with the Israeli military in some cities, bypassing the PA.
“The new measures effectively reduce the PA to little more than a security agent for Israel, stripping it of virtually all administrative powers,” said Juma.
He warned that the Palestinian Authority now faces an existential crisis, although it remains unclear what steps it will take.
Following the announcement, Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy president of the PA, called on the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the UN Security Council to hold emergency sessions to “discuss and condemn” the Israeli decision and demand its reversal.
“These decisions have cornered the PA,” Juma said.
“It now has no real options: either it continues as a security agent for the occupation in every sense of the word, or it shifts towards a new Palestinian resistance plan to confront these measures.”
Hebron targeted
The new measures specifically target Hebron, introducing far-reaching changes to the city.
The city is home to approximately 200,000 Palestinians and 700 Israeli settlers.
For decades, it has been a focal point of Israeli settlement activity and is the only Palestinian city outside of East Jerusalem where settlers live within the urban centre.
Most West Bank settlers live in outlying areas, away from major Palestinian towns.
Hebron also contains the Ibrahimi Mosque, an ancient site revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews, and has long been the site of settler raids and takeover attempts.
Following a 1994 massacre at the mosque by an Israeli settler, the city was divided into two areas under the Hebron Protocol agreements: H1, controlled by Palestinians, covering roughly 80 percent of the city; and H2, controlled by the Israeli military, covering 20 percent.
‘For many years, the occupation ‘managed the conflict’ with Palestinians – but today they are moving toward resolving it through outright ethnic cleansing’
– Hisham Sharabati, researcher
The new measures transfer municipal powers in Hebron from the PA to Israeli authorities and place planning and service provision around the Ibrahimi Mosque under Israeli control, effectively dismantling the Hebron Protocol arrangements.
Hisham Sharabati, a Hebron-based researcher with the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC), told MEE that the latest move is part of a decades-long Israeli policy to ethnically cleanse the city.
“The new changes mean the settlement planning council would oversee public spaces, road construction, and services in Hebron,” he said.
“This will inevitably prioritise Israeli settlers over Palestinians, giving them legal control over areas that have long been Palestinian.”
Sharabati warned that around 35,000 Palestinians living in H2, who have long endured heavy military restrictions, are likely to be the first affected.
He also cautioned that similar measures could soon be extended to other Palestinian cities.
“There is a campaign targeting the entire Palestinian presence in the West Bank,” he said.
“This long-standing policy continues, but at an accelerated pace.
“For many years, the occupation ‘managed the conflict’ with Palestinians – but today they are moving toward resolving it through outright ethnic cleansing, paving the way for annexation.”
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