Taybeh, a small hilltop town in the heart of the West Bank, is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, now feeling under siege and fighting for its existence.
Western Sahara is the largest disputed territory in the world, designated by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory, despite Morocco controlling about 80% of it.
Last week, its security cabinet approved a move that makes it easier for settlers to buy land there, repealing decades-old laws and regulations. This week, the Israeli government went a step further. It has approved a proposal to reactivate land registration in the area for the first time since 1967. The move paves the way for Israel to gain ownership of vast swaths of land Palestinians hoped would have been part of their future state.
The Israeli government has approved a plan to begin land registration in the occupied West Bank, meaning it will be able to seize land from Palestinians who cannot prove ownership. For the first time since Israel's occupation of the West Bank in 1967, it will register such land as property of the state also known as settlement of land title in Area C of the occupied West Bank.
But urgency should never become an excuse for illusion, spectacle, or political shortcuts. The contrast between rhetoric and reality could not be sharper. While United States President Donald Trump and a group of world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, to sign the charter of the so-called Board of Peace and unveil glossy reconstruction plans, the killing in Gaza continued. Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, no fewer than 480 Palestinians have been killed.
