West Bank move

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s incoming prime minister, has agreed to legalise dozens of illegal outposts in the West Bank in ongoing talks with his extreme-right coalition partners. According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu agreed with Itamar BenGvir, a co-leader of the Religious Zionism faction, to legalise the outposts within the first 60 days of a coalition being sworn in. Outposts are small communities of Jewish settlers built on land taken from Palestinians in the West Bank and are illegal under Israeli and international law. Settlements, which are larger and also built on land taken from Palestinians, are supported by the Israeli government, but widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. There are reportedly about 50 outposts currently in the West Bank and it is unclear if the decision was taken to legalise all of them, or a selected majority. The deal was agreed as part of ongoing coalition talks between Netanyahu and various political parties, which may throw up hurdles to implementing what is discussed. The changes would also require majority support in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, which is not guaranteed at this stage.