The Palestinian Authority condemned Israel's Security Cabinet decisions on Judea and Samaria settlement expansion between 6:46 PM and 7:46 PM UTC on February 8, 2026, while Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the Authority's death penalty for land sales to Jews and criticized Jordanian discriminatory laws, according to an X post by @IsraelMFA. Israel's MFA stated that the Palestinian Authority maintains a death penalty for anyone selling real estate to Jews, contrasting it with the Cabinet's recent measures approved earlier on February 8, which repeal Jordanian-era bans on such sales. The MFA accused the Jordanian Foreign Ministry of concealing that the Cabinet corrected a racist Jordanian law discriminating against Jews, Americans, Europeans, and non-Arabs in real estate purchases in Judea and Samaria, as posted on X. The Cabinet approvals, announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier between 5:16 PM and 6:46 PM UTC, include opening land registries, repealing discriminatory laws, and enhancing enforcement and development in areas like Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb, per prior reports by @GuyAz on X. Smotrich stated, “We are deepening our roots across the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” while Katz said, “We are anchoring settlement as an inseparable part of Israel’s government policy,” according to @GuyAz.
