Israeli settlement law condemned

Secretary-general of U.N., allies speak out; U.S. remains quiet

JERUSALEM — A new Israeli law legalizing dozens of unlawfully built West Bank settlement outposts came under heavy criticism Tuesday from some of Israel’s closest allies, as local rights groups prepared to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the measure.

Amid the uproar, the Trump administration remained quiet about the law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week.

The law, passed late Monday, sets out to legalize dozens of West Bank settler outposts, some of them decades old, built on privately owned Palestinian land.

The Palestinians seek the West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future independent state. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements illegal and counterproductive to peace. Some 600,000 Israelis now live in the two areas.

In Paris, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the law puts “the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution” and accused the Israeli government of “trying to legalize looting Palestinian land.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “deep regret” over the bill, saying it was “in contravention of international law and will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel.”

Germany’s Foreign Ministry said its faith in Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution was “deeply shaken.” Britain’s minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, said the law “damages Israel’s standing with its international partners.”

Jordan, a key Arab ally, said such “provocative acts” could “fuel the anger of Muslims and drag the region to more violence and extremism.”

Turkey’s tourism minister, Nabi Avci, visiting Israel as part of a reconciliation process, said he hoped Israel’s Supreme Court would make the “right decision” and strike down the law.