Lead
Acting Hebron mayor Asma al-Sharabati warned that new cabinet measures announced by Israeli ministers will sideline Palestinian authorities in urban planning and heritage decisions across the occupied West Bank. The moves, approved by Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday, extend civilian powers into areas long governed by arrangements formed under the Oslo Accords. In Hebron’s divided H2 district — home to roughly 800 Jewish settlers and about 33,000 Palestinians — residents say daily life is already constrained by checkpoints, shuttered shops and a heavy military presence. Local leaders and diplomats say the changes risk deepening a practical annexation of Palestinian-run areas.
Key takeaways
- Israel’s security cabinet approved measures on Sunday to expand civilian control in parts of the West Bank previously governed under Oslo-era arrangements.
- Hebron’s H2 area contains about 800 Jewish settlers living among roughly 33,000 Palestinians; the city has long been a flashpoint with an Israeli military garrison.
- New powers formally allow Israeli ministries to provide municipal services and to claim supervisory authority over declared “heritage sites,” including the Cave of the Patriarchs.
- Officials including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich framed the steps as protection of heritage and environment while critics call them a move toward annexation.
- More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, territories captured in 1967 and claimed by Palestinians for a future state.
- Palestinian leaders say the changes erode the remaining authorities of the Palestinian Authority and complicate regional diplomacy tied to proposals for Gaza and the West Bank.
- The UK government has publicly condemned the decision and signalled it may take further diplomatic steps in coming days.
Background
The West Bank’s governance has rested on a patchwork of arrangements since the 1990s Oslo Accords established differentiated control between Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Those accords created zones and a framework that separated many civilian functions from direct Israeli civilian administration, though military presence and settlement activity have long blurred practical boundaries. Hebron is among the most visible examples: its Old City and H2 area host both Palestinian neighborhoods and protected Israeli settler enclaves under military oversight.
Settlement expansion has accelerated since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the ensuing Gaza war, sharpening Israeli domestic politics and emboldening far-right ministers who favour extending Israeli sovereignty. Palestinians view changes that transfer civilian powers — such as planning, municipal services and heritage oversight — as steps that dismantle negotiated arrangements and close off political horizons for a two-state outcome. International law views settlements in the occupied territories as illegal; that legal framing underpins much diplomatic pushback to recent Israeli measures.
Main event
On Sunday, members of Israel’s security cabinet approved broad legal changes to civilian authority across parts of the West Bank. Officials said the measures allow Israeli ministries to provide municipal services to settlers and to supervise sites described as historic or environmental priorities. Among the named places is the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a compound that contains both a major Jewish shrine and the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Hebron’s acting mayor, Asma al-Sharabati, told local reporters she had not received formal written notification of the planned handovers and learned details from Israeli media. She said Palestinian institutions would be excluded from future planning and development decisions in areas where they still exercise municipal functions, a shift she called the “end of the road” for negotiations.
Residents in H2 describe constricted movement, closed streets and shuttered businesses near Israeli checkpoints. Activists such as Issa Amro say many Palestinian homes nearby are empty after years of restrictions and claims on land; Amro described a legal change that would convert long-standing de facto expansion into a codified authority, effectively reducing Palestinian rights in place.
Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who oversees settlement policy, defended the steps as measures to protect heritage, water and environmental resources and to supervise private Israeli ownership where allowed. Critics say the policy opens the door to private Israeli land claims and weakens prohibitions that previously prevented Palestinians from selling land to non-Palestinians.
Analysis & implications
The legal transfer of civilian powers from Palestinian municipal bodies to Israeli ministries would represent a structural change in the West Bank’s status quo. Where occupation had been framed primarily in security and military terms, the new steps institutionalize civilian administration by an occupying power — a distinction with legal and diplomatic consequences. International partners that oppose annexation may view this as a de facto extension of Israeli sovereignty into Palestinian-run spaces.
Domestically in Israel, the measures respond to political pressure from parties that prioritise settlement expansion and sovereignty claims in what they call Judea and Samaria. For Palestinians, the result is a shrinking of effective self-rule and a further complication of any future negotiations toward statehood. The erosion of municipal authority also risks practical harms — from disputed planning decisions to contested control over water and heritage sites — that will affect daily life for tens of thousands.
Regionally, Arab states weighing cooperation on Gaza-related diplomacy could see these moves as undermining the reciprocity needed to advance wider peace proposals. US policy has vacillated in public statements; while President Trump (referenced in regional plans) has signalled opposition to formal annexation, his broader regional initiatives depend on Arab buy-in that may be jeopardised if West Bank civilian powers are extended to Israel.
Comparison & data
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Jewish settlers in Hebron H2 | ~800 |
| Palestinians in Hebron H2 | ~33,000 |
| Israeli settlers in West Bank & East Jerusalem | >700,000 |
| Key turning point referenced | 7 Oct 2023 Hamas attacks |
The table highlights the concentrated settler presence in H2 compared with the large settler population across the wider West Bank and East Jerusalem. Those population dynamics, combined with new civilian powers, amplify the practical impact of policy shifts on specific districts like Hebron even as they reshape governance across larger territories.
Reactions & quotes
International and local responses have been immediate but varied, from formal condemnation to firm political defence.
“We are living the ugly truth that we are not protected.”
Asma al-Sharabati, Acting Mayor of Hebron
Al-Sharabati framed the measures as a removal of protection and legal standing for Palestinian municipal input in their own communities, stressing the absence of prior formal notification.
“We are deepening our roots in all parts of the land of Israel… burying the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Finance Minister
Smotrich described the changes as an affirmation of Israeli heritage and security priorities; his office links these policy shifts to settlement and land management objectives. Diplomats including the UK under-secretary for the Middle East have publicly criticised the decision and warned of diplomatic consequences.
Unconfirmed
- Exact legal texts and timetables for handing municipal duties to Israeli ministries have not been publicly released in full; some implementation details remain unconfirmed.
- Reports that a classified land registry will be published affecting covert past property sales are circulating, but the precise contents and scope of any release are not independently verified.
- Longer-term international actions or sanctions in response to the measures remain subject to diplomatic decisions that are still being negotiated.
Bottom line
The cabinet decision marks a material shift: it moves some civilian powers into Israeli hands in areas that have until now remained under Palestinian municipal authority. For residents of Hebron’s H2 and similar districts, the change could harden patterns of restricted movement, contested ownership and diminished local decision-making.
Diplomatically, the measures complicate already fragile prospects for a negotiated two-state horizon and may strain relations with Western and Arab partners who oppose unilateral changes to territory status. Watch for legal challenges, diplomatic démarches in the coming days, and practical municipal disputes that will determine how quickly and deeply the new powers alter life on the ground.