Israel's security cabinet has passed new rules to strengthen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank, local media report. The Palestinian presidency slammed the move as a “dangerous” attempt to legalize settlement expansion and land confiscation. President Mahmoud Abbas' office urged the US and United Nations Security Council to intervene immediately. Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the decision, calling it aimed at imposing illegal Israeli sovereignty and deepening settlements. Hamas urged West Bank Palestinians to “intensify the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers.” According to Israeli news outlets Ynet and Haaretz, the new rules simplify land purchases by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and boost Israeli powers to enforce laws on Palestinians. These steps include removing restrictions that prevented private Jewish individuals from buying land and expanding Israeli authority over certain religious sites. The rules also increase Israeli oversight in Palestinian Authority-run areas. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement, “we will continue to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.” Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh condemned the moves as a total violation of agreements and international law, calling them a serious escalation that destroys hopes for a two-state solution and increases regional instability. The new measures come just days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.