On May 11, 2025, Israel’s Security Cabinet decided to relaunch the process of land registration in the West Bank, which Israel froze following the 1967 War after it occupied the territory.1 Known as Settlement of Land Title (SOLT), the process was renewed in occupied East Jerusalem in 2018. Human rights groups have described SOLT as a “grand land theft” that’s been manipulated by Israel to stop Palestinians from obtaining their property rights while seizing more land for Jewish settlement.2

Land registration refers to officially documenting property rights, which, once finalized, are recorded in Israel’s land registration bureau called the tabu. If ownership claims aren’t found for a given plot of land, then it becomes state property.3

The decision applies to the 60 percent of the West Bank designated as Area C under the Oslo II Agreement.

The decision also explicitly endorses the blocking of any efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to register land in Area C, including deducting and funds used in the past by the PA for this purpose from future transfers of import tax revenues that Israel is supposed to transfer to the PA.4

Jerusalem Story sat down with Hagit Ofran, an Israeli peace activist Jerusalemite who directs Peace Now’s Settlement Watch project, which monitors all developments on the ground related to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. She is widely acknowledged to be an expert on issues related to settlements. We spoke with her about Israel’s intentions and how SOLT procedures will work in the West Bank.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Jerusalem Story (JS): What is the land registration process and how will it work in Area C of the occupied West Bank?

Hagit Ofran (HO): The process of land registration, which concludes the ownership, is almost impossible to undo after one’s claims are recognized and registered. And this is why it was stopped by Israel in 1968 in order not to do it, because we are only temporarily occupying [the West Bank]. We’re not the sovereign there.

The process itself is surveying the land, collecting the claims of ownership, going over them, and then eventually registering every parcel in the name of an owner.

It’s very likely that Palestinians will not be able to register land in this process, or it’ll be very rare that they will succeed in that, because the Israeli interpretation of the law [says] you need to prove that you cultivated the land all the time in a massive way. And there is a lot of land that is not cultivated, or it was not cultivated every year or only partially cultivated, so most of the land in Area C will fail this test.

Even if you did cultivate it, then the level of proof that you will need to provide will be very high in terms of original documents. This is something we don’t know yet. What will [Israel] demand? But we know what they demand in East Jerusalem. So, you [may] need to bring the original ownership deed from the Jordanian time. And then you will need to bring the original document [for every land purchase], and you will need to have all the heirs of the original owner sign to you that they agree. And if there is one heir that is not in the West Bank, then it’s a problem because [the land is] considered to be “absentee property.” So, the state is likely to register any parcel that is not approved to be owned by someone specific as public land or state land.

JS: What is the history of the land registration process before Israel froze it in the West Bank in 1967?

HO: The [Colonial] British Mandate authorities started land registration in the 1940s, then the Jordanians continued it until 1967. Together, they managed to register about one-third of the land of the West Bank. But two-thirds are not registered, and most of the non-registered land is rural land, and a lot of it is in Area C.

When the Jordanians and the British did it, they didn’t interpret the law the way Israel is doing. Israel took advantage of the Ottoman Law and took over around 1 million dunams [approximately 247,000 acres] of the West Bank using this interpretation of the need for cultivation.

[Before the cabinet decision] to prevent the state from declaring the area as state land, it was enough that someone shows that it was cultivated.

But now it won’t be enough. You not only must show that it was cultivated, but you also need to show that you are the owner and have all the documents to show it. So, the land registration is going to be used as a tool to take over land that they failed to take over previously, according to the interpretation of the law.

JS: Has land registration in the West Bank been a goal of Israel’s for a while?

HO: Settlers have been suggesting it and demanding it in the last few years. The government didn’t do it until today, because it’s a huge problem in terms of international law. We are an occupier; we’re not supposed to register land.

Now they don’t seem to care anymore. They replaced all the legal advisory [personnel who oversaw] the land issues in the West Bank. Now it’s a civil legal advisor [instead of a] military legal advisor. The government is trying to make as many changes as possible, because it’s like an opportunity for them. They have no real opposition in the Knesset [Israeli parliament]. They have no real international pressure on this issue. And of course, with this American administration, they feel they can do whatever they want.

JS: How is the land registration process in Area C related to settlement of land title in East Jerusalem?

HO: We can learn a lot from what they’re doing in Jerusalem. There, the land registration process started with every piece of land that can be registered in the name of Jews or Israelis.

They started where you already have settlements in East Jerusalem on land that used to belong to Jews before 1948, and they want to make it conclusive. On a map, it’s almost a one-to-one correlation with settlements and where they want to register the land.

Secondly, we can learn to what extent the Palestinians are ready to cooperate with [land registration]. If you don’t cooperate, you will not be registered. If you do, [then you’re] cooperating with something that is against you.

The Palestinian Authority is also doing land registration, but they have a different attitude toward it. They’re there to settle the land to find the true owners, with the aim of registering it in the names of Palestinians. The aim of the Israeli government is to make this land into state land or to take the land from the Palestinians.