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, said 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.
They include expanding Israeli control beyond its military occupation, into the provision of municipal services in Palestinian-run areas, as well as broad powers to take over so-called 'heritage sites' across the West Bank.
Israel's new measures aim to ensure municipal services for Jewish settlers and open property ownership in the West Bank to private Israeli citizens, a shift that critically impacts Palestinian residents.
'We are living the ugly truth that we are not protected,' said al-Sharabati. 'Institutions are not protecting us.' The changes have sparked fears of formal annexation, further complicating the peace process.
Despite the growing tensions, international reaction remains uncertain, as various countries, including the UK, weigh their responses to Israel's actions that threaten Palestinian statehood.
