News / Palestine

Israel mulls bill to confiscate more Palestinian land: Minister

Monday, 02 January 2017 6:38 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 02 January 2017 6:50 AM ]

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Photo by AFP)

The Tel Aviv regime plans to put forward a bill by the end of this month to annex more Palestinian land in the West Bank despite a recent UN resolution against illegal settlement activities in the occupied territories.

“Before the end of January, we, together with all the coalition parties, will propose a bill for the imposition of Israeli law on Ma’ale Adumim,” right-wing Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who also heads the so-called Jewish Home party, said on Sunday, Haaretz reported.

Ma’ale Adumim, which is considered by many Israelis as a suburban city, is the third most populous Israeli settlement located seven kilometers from Jerusalem al-Quds, encompassing a large swath of land in the occupied West Bank.

Bennett further expressed hope that the proposed bill would be supported by all regime officials.

The Knesset (Israeli parliament) law committee is expected to discuss the Ma’ale Adumim annexation in a special session on Monday despite divisions among politicians over the controversial topic.

Israeli forces block Palestinian youths who want to play football in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement (background) in the occupied West Bank on October 11, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Bennett, who is known for his routine expressions of extremist viewpoints, said last October that Israelis must “give their lives” to ensure the annexation of the West Bank.

After the 45th US presidential election in November, the hard-line Israeli politician also said that the idea of a sovereign Palestinian state was over following Donald Trump’s win.

A month later, however, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334 that denounced Israeli settlements as a “flagrant violation of international law.”

Irked by the vote, Bennett urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rescind his support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The UN motion “like many of the earlier resolutions, will be thrown into the dustbin of history,” he claimed.

More than 230 illegal settlements have been constructed since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The unauthorized structures have hampered attempts to establish peace in the Middle East.

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