The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Israel allies critical of settlements law
Legalizing outposts may fuel the fight with Palestinians.
A new Israeli law legalizing dozens of unlawfully built West Bank settlement outposts came under heavy criticism on Tuesday from some of Israel’s closest allies, as local rights groups prepared to ask the nation’s Supreme Court to overturn the measure.
Amid the uproar, the Trump administration — which has sent mixed signals about the settlements — remained quiet about the law, paving the way for further possible action by emboldened Israeli hard-liners ahead of a trip to the White House next week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The law, passed late Monday, intends to legalize dozens of West Bank settler outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land. Proponents claim the communities, home to thousands of people and in some cases decades old, were built in “good faith” and quietly backed by a string of Israeli governments.
But critics said the law amounts to land theft. They also said it is legally problematic, imposing Israeli law on occupied land that is not sovereign Israeli territory.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as parts of a future independent state — a so-called “two-state” formula for Mideast peace that has had strong international support, including from the Obama administration. Most of the international community considers the Israeli settlements, home to some 600,000 Israelis, illegal and counterproductive to peace.
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.”
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.”
“The secretary-general insists on the need to avoid any action that would derail the two-state solution,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Some of Israel’s closest allies, including Germany, Britain and the Czech Republic, also condemned the legislation, and Jordan, a key Arab ally, said such “provocative acts” could “fuel the anger of Muslims and drag the region to more violence and extremism.”
Legal experts say the law is problematic, and Israel’s attorney general has said he will not defend it in court. Netanyahu has also expressed misgivings, reportedly saying it could drag Israel into international legal prosecution, though in the end he agreed to support it.