A Palestinian official in the occupied West Bank has described Israel's latest expansion of control there as the end of the road for negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Asma al-Sharabati, acting mayor of Hebron, stated that new legal changes recently announced by Israeli cabinet ministers would leave Palestinian authorities shut out of decisions on urban planning and development, even in areas under Palestinian control.
Hebron is a regular flashpoint in the West Bank - a divided city, where soldiers guard hundreds of Israeli settlers living alongside Palestinians in an Israeli military garrison. On Sunday, the Israeli security cabinet passed major changes to the established division of powers in the West Bank, set up three decades ago under the US-backed Oslo Accords, signed by both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. These changes include expanding Israeli control beyond military occupation into the provision of municipal services in Palestinian-run areas, and broad powers to take over so-called heritage sites across the West Bank.
Israel cites the need to protect water, environmental and archaeological resources as justification for this expansion, and it will also take over planning authority at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. To the acting mayor, this represents the erosion of Palestinian rights and governance in their territories, as she expressed concerns about being cut out of development decisions.
Now they can simply put their hands on any building and declare it is ancient, and the Palestinian authorities are not part of any decision on urban planning or development of the area, al-Sharabati articulated. The newly legislated powers are contributing to fears of a legal annexation, as they shift the status of the West Bank from occupied territory to a disputed legal standing.
This decision arrives amidst a backdrop of international focus on Gaza, following the Hamas attacks on Israel and ongoing military engagements in the region. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for a firm response from the U.S. government, emphasizing that Israel's actions disrupt peace efforts while violating international law. In this volatile context, the future of Hebron—and the broader reaches of the West Bank—remain uncertain and precarious.
Hebron is a regular flashpoint in the West Bank - a divided city, where soldiers guard hundreds of Israeli settlers living alongside Palestinians in an Israeli military garrison. On Sunday, the Israeli security cabinet passed major changes to the established division of powers in the West Bank, set up three decades ago under the US-backed Oslo Accords, signed by both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. These changes include expanding Israeli control beyond military occupation into the provision of municipal services in Palestinian-run areas, and broad powers to take over so-called heritage sites across the West Bank.
Israel cites the need to protect water, environmental and archaeological resources as justification for this expansion, and it will also take over planning authority at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. To the acting mayor, this represents the erosion of Palestinian rights and governance in their territories, as she expressed concerns about being cut out of development decisions.
Now they can simply put their hands on any building and declare it is ancient, and the Palestinian authorities are not part of any decision on urban planning or development of the area, al-Sharabati articulated. The newly legislated powers are contributing to fears of a legal annexation, as they shift the status of the West Bank from occupied territory to a disputed legal standing.
This decision arrives amidst a backdrop of international focus on Gaza, following the Hamas attacks on Israel and ongoing military engagements in the region. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for a firm response from the U.S. government, emphasizing that Israel's actions disrupt peace efforts while violating international law. In this volatile context, the future of Hebron—and the broader reaches of the West Bank—remain uncertain and precarious.
