Bid to legalise outposts

BETHLEHEM: Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is set to advance a “Legalisation Bill” this week, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed coalition chairman David Bitton to approve the legislation, which would see dozens of illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank retroactively recognised by the Israeli government.

“The law is designed to normalise the status of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria once and for all and prevent recurrent attempts to harm the settlement enterprise,” Netanyahu said, using an Israeli term for the occupied West Bank. The bill needs to pass two more readings before becoming law. Ma’an –