Israeli measures mark ‘new blow’ to international law, UNRWA chief says

By Lina Altawell

ISTANBUL (AA) - New Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank mark “a new blow against international law,” the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, said the steps pave the way for “accelerated settlement expansion” and further undermine prospects for Palestinians.

“The measures amount to a recipe for increased control, hopelessness and violence,” Lazzarini wrote late Tuesday on the US social media platform X.

He said the decisions set dangerous precedents with potential global consequences.

His remarks came after Israel’s Security Cabinet approved measures Sunday aimed at altering the legal and civil framework in the occupied West Bank to strengthen illegal Israeli control.

According to Israeli media, the decisions include repealing a law that barred the sale of land in the West Bank to private Israeli individuals, unsealing land ownership records, and shifting authority for building permits in a settlement bloc near Hebron from a Palestinian municipality to Israel’s civil administration.