Israeli parliament supports bill legalizing illegal settlements
Israeli lawmakers have given their initial approval to a controversial bill that would grant legal status to settlement outposts illegally constructed on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
The measure, promoted by far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, passed its first reading in the Israeli parliament (Knesset) on Wednesday with 58 votes supporting the bill and 50 opposing it.
The measure, which requires three more full parliamentary votes to become law, would apply to some 2,000 to 3,000 illegal settler homes in the West Bank, including the Amona outpost that is under a court order to be demolished by December 25.
The approval of the bill came three days after Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation unanimously endorsed the draft legislation.
However, US State Department spokeswoman, Elizabeth Trudeau, denounced the move as "unprecedented and troubling," saying Washington is "deeply concerned" about the measure and hopes “it does not become law.”
Netanyahu initially opposed the bill but later backed it. Some reports said he had reached a compromise with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon - who had earlier threatened not to vote - that could see the measure stall.
Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem al-Quds.
This is while the international community considers all Israeli settlements to be illegal, whether they are authorized by the regime or not.
The Tel Aviv regime has defied international calls to stop its illegal construction activities, with its settlement expansion being among the main reasons behind the collapse of the last round of the so-called Middle East peace talks in 2014.
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