House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the lower chamber, said Sunday that his party is willing to spend tens of millions of dollars on a Virginia redistricting effort that could secure four additional U.S. House seats for Democrats.
Jeffries pledged unwavering Democratic support for a crucial April voter referendum, stating they would do "whatever it takes" to ensure the Virginia redistricting plan succeed.
Democrats are currently pushing for redistricting initiatives in Virginia and Maryland, aiming to flip several U.S. House seats in their favor. Republicans, who currently hold a narrow majority in the House, have already enacted new district maps in Texas, Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina.
U.S. House minority leader pledges millions to redraw Virginia's voting map
The Palestinian Presidency on Sunday said Israel's decision to reopen land registration in the West Bank constitutes a de facto annexation aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement expansion.
In a statement, the presidency said the move violates international law, poses a threat to security and stability, and marks a dangerous escalation. The decision contradicts UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334, which deems all settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, illegal.
"Measures will not grant the Israeli occupation legitimacy over the land of the State of Palestine or alter the legal and historical status of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza," the statement said.
Palestinian leaders called on the international community to intervene to halt the move and enforce international law.
Meanwhile, Hamas described the decision as "null and void" and an attempt to impose a "Judaizing settlement reality by force." The group vowed to resist all efforts to impose annexation, displacement, or settlement projects and urged international parties to protect Palestinians' rights to land, self-determination, and statehood with Jerusalem as the capital.
Israel on Sunday approved a plan to register West Bank land as "state property," a move that could strengthen Israeli claims and facilitate settlement expansion. The plan, submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, was approved by the cabinet, according to a joint statement.
For the first time since the 1967 Middle East war, which brought the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza under Israeli control, the cabinet authorized a land registration process in the West Bank. The Land Registry and Settlement of Rights, a government authority under the Justice Ministry, will carry out the process with dedicated staff and budget.
The ministers said the move would allow a "transparent and thorough clarification" of property rights. Much of the West Bank has never undergone systematic registration, with ownership claims relying on Ottoman, British Mandate, or Jordanian records.
The decision is the latest in a series of measures by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government aimed at expanding settlements. Palestinian officials have warned that formalizing Israeli state claims over land in Area C could further undermine prospects for a negotiated two-state solution.
The West Bank is seen by most of the international community as occupied territory. Palestinians seek it as the core of a future independent state.
Israel retains control of over 60 percent of the West Bank, defined as Area C outside the Palestinian enclaves known as Areas A and B, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Palestine denounces Israel's West Bank land registration decision
