Allies criticise new Israeli law

Bid to seize Palestinian land also faces legal challenges

JERUSALEM: A new Israeli law legalising dozens of unlawfully built West Bank settlement outposts came under heavy criticism 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 – paving the way for further possible action by emboldened Israeli hardliners ahead of a trip to the White House by Israel’s prime minister next week.

The law, passed late on Monday, sets out to legalise dozens of West Bank settler outposts built on pri- vately owned Palestinian land.

Proponents claimed 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 legalised land theft.

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 yesterday the law puts “the last nail in the coffin of the twostate solution” and accused the Israeli government of “trying to legalise looting Palestinian land.”

UN 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.”

Some of Israel’s closest allies, including Germany, Britain and the Czech Republic, also condemned the legislation.

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.

Prominent Israeli advocacy groups, including Peace Now, the Arab rights group Adalah, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, all announced plans to file legal challenges.