THE United Nations has issued a stark warning that recent steps by Israel to tighten control NEW YORK —over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority risk amounting to a gradual de facto annexation of the territory.
In recent weeks, Israel approved several initiatives supported by hardline right-wing ministers aimed at strengthening its hold over the West Bank, where Palestinians currently exercise limited autonomy under previous agreements.
AFP cited Rosemary DiCarlo, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, saying that the world body is witnessing incremental de facto annexation, with Israel’s ongoing unilateral actions continually altering the territorial landscape.
“If implemented, these measures would constitute a dangerous expansion of Israeli civil authority in the occupied West Bank, including in sensitive areas such as Hebron,” she said.
DiCarlo added that the steps could facilitate the expansion of illegal settlements by removing bureaucratic obstacles and easing land acquisition and building permit approvals.
The newly approved measures are expected to extend Israeli control over parts of the West Bank currently under Palestinian Authority administration. Under the Oslo Accords, the West Bank is divided into Areas A, B, and C, corresponding to Palestinian administration, joint administration, and Israeli administration, respectively.
The West Bank is envisaged as forming the largest portion of a future independent Palestinian state, yet many hardline Israeli religious groups regard the territory as integral to Israel. The Oslo Accords, in force since the 1990s, were signed with the goal of paving the way for a sovereign Palestinian state.
On Tuesday, the UN mission representing 85 member states issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s expansion of control in the West Bank, signalling broad international concern over unilateral actions that could undermine the two-state solution. - February 19, 2026
