Shooting, land grabs, heritage disputes: West Bank tensions escalate

A surge in violence and a string of controversial Israeli policies are intensifying tensions in the West Bank. In recent days, a deadly shooting of a pregnant Israeli woman, expanded land registration plans favouring settlers, and new archaeological excavations in a contested heritage site have sparked condemnation and fuelled fears of irreversible changes on the ground.

Tzeela Gez, a 33-year-old therapist from the Israeli settlement of Bruchin, was shot and killed on Wednesday night in a terrorist attack while en route to hospital to give birth. The baby was delivered in an critical condition and remains in intensive care. Tzeela's husband, Hananel, sustained light injuries and managed to call for help.

Security forces sealed off Palestinian villages during a search for the attacker, believed to be a lone gunman who fled on foot. He is yet to be apprehended.

In the wake of the attack, settlers carried out retaliatory “price tag” attacks. A house in a Palestinian village near the site of the shooting was set on fire, and 17 Palestinian vehicles were torched near the Ariel industrial zone. Firefighters limited damage to the house, and Israeli police arrived later to investigate.

The killing comes amid a broader spike in West Bank violence. A Shin Bet report revealed that terror incidents in 2024 nearly doubled from the previous year, with 6,828 recorded compared to 3,436 in 2023. However, “significant” attacks—such as shootings and stabbings—fell by 44%. Security forces thwarted over 1,000 such attacks in 2024, a figure consistent with 2023. Despite these efforts, 46 people were killed and 337 injured in attacks in 2024.

Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a contentious decision to resume and expand land registration in Area C of the West Bank—a process not undertaken since Israel occupied the territory in 1967. This process, known as Tabu, will formalise property rights, largely benefiting Israeli settlers and the state. Critics argue it will severely disadvantage Palestinians, particularly those unable to prove ownership due to decades of disrupted access to records and documents.

The decision also directs Israel's defence establishment to obstruct a parallel land registration initiative launched by the Palestinian Authority (PA), including blocking officials, halting foreign funding for the project, and deducting related PA expenditures from taxes Israel collects on its behalf.

A day after Israel's security cabinet approved the formal registration of land ownership in the West Bank, the state cited the decision in a request to the High Court of Justice to postpone the demolition of two illegally built homes in the settlement of Eli. In its petition, submitted on Tuesday—just two days before the court-mandated eviction deadline—the state argued that the new policy paves the way for legalising the homes, and requested a two-year delay.

Area C, comprising around 60% of the West Bank, is under full Israeli control under the Oslo Accords. The new policy may lead to the confiscation of lands without documented ownership claims, many of which belong to Palestinians. Legal experts have warned that this violates international laws of occupation, which bar an occupying power from making long-term legal changes in occupied territory.

Attorney Michael Sfard criticised the move as a “massive land grab”, telling Haaretz that Palestinians are effectively shut out of the process. “Palestinians don’t have access to the information and documents needed to prove their rights,” he said.

Sfard also noted that absentees—Palestinians not residing in Israel or the West Bank—cannot participate, even if they are landowners. “The occupying power, not a neutral party, adjudicates the claims. This fuels mistrust and fear, pushing many Palestinians to avoid the process.”

Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, framed the policy as a measure to strengthen Jewish settlements and prevent a future Palestinian state. Smotrich described it as part of a broader strategy to increase the settler population and consolidate Israel’s hold on the West Bank. Critics say the policy marks a significant escalation in Israel’s de facto annexation efforts.

Israel’s Heritage Ministry has begun excavations at the Sebastia archaeological site in the northern West Bank—the first such activity there in decades. The move is part of a broader NIS 36 million (approx. A$16 million) plan to develop the area. The project, led by Israel’s Heritage, Environmental Protection, and Tourism Ministries, is controversial due to the site's location in occupied territory.

Under international law, occupying powers are barred from conducting archaeological digs in occupied territories. Critics argue the excavation violates this principle. The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the move as an attempt to "Judaise" the site. The PA previously applied to UNESCO to recognise Sebastia as a Palestinian heritage site, citing its significance during the Iron Age, Hellenistic, and Roman periods—without mentioning its Jewish history.

Sebastia, known in Hebrew as Shomron, was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE and holds historical significance for both Palestinians and Israelis. Israel controls the archaeological park in Area C, while the adjacent Palestinian village lies in Area B, under joint Israeli-PA control.

Local Palestinian officials said to Haaretz they were neither consulted nor informed. After digging began, the PA’s official news agency WAFA reported that Ali Zaidan Abu Zahri, head of the Palestinian National Committee for Tangible and Intangible Heritage, urged UNESCO to intervene. Sebastia’s council head, Muhammad Azam, said the area had become a closed military zone and residents were denied access. He noted an increase in Israeli military raids on the village, some occurring daily. “This is an open tourist area, and everyone, including Israeli tourists, is welcome. However, the goal here is settlement-driven, not tourism-driven,” he said to Haaretz.

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman defended the project, calling it an act of “historical justice”. She drew further controversy by stating, “There is no Palestinian people and therefore there can be no Palestinian site.”

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Israel's security cabinet advances West Bank land registration, enabling Palestinian dispossession (Haaretz)

Archaeologists launch new excavation in West Bank at capital of ancient Israel (Times of Israel)

Israel launches excavation at ancient site of Sebastia in Palestinian village in West Bank (Haaretz)

Eyewitnesses, husband recount terror attack that killed expectant mother Tzeela Gez (Ynetnews)

Settlers set fire to 15 Palestinian vehicles in West Bank, Palestinian media reports (Times of Israel)

IDF searches for West Bank shooter who killed pregnant woman as settlers torch Palestinian cars (Haaretz)

‘I don’t want politics’: Sister of terror victim cuts off settler leader’s eulogy (Times of Israel)