«Israel» Set to Pass Bill Legalizing W Bank Settler Units

Local Editor

"Israeli" lawmakers could vote Wednesday to advance a bill legalizing some 4,000 settler units in the occupied West Bank despite international criticism and warnings over its implications.

The bill was set for a first reading in the "Israeli" regime's Knesset, or parliament, and if approved would require two more full votes before becoming law.

A vote was expected Wednesday, though last-minute negotiations could still cause it to be delayed.

The bill was given preliminary approval in parliament Monday, with some of its backers calling it a step towards eventual annexation of most of the West Bank.

Some 400,000 illegal "Israeli" settlers currently live in the occupied West Bank, excluding annexed east al-Quds [Jerusalem], along with 2.6 million Palestinians.

The United States, UN officials and the European Union had warned that continued settlement building is eating away at the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict.

All "Israeli" settlements are viewed as illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to so-called "peace" efforts.

Key figures in "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, considered the most right-wing in "Israeli" history, openly oppose a Palestinian state.

The apartheid "Israeli" entity's so-called Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the bill's main backer, had advocated annexing most of the West Bank.

"Israeli" Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit warned that the bill, if passed, would violate both "Israeli" and international law.

In a related context, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday: "We hope that it does not become law.

Toner went on to say: "We've also been troubled by comments that we've heard by some political figures in ‘Israel' that this would be the first step in annexing parts of the West Bank."

Walid Assaf, the Palestinian minister responsible for monitoring illegal "Israeli" settlements, called the bill "the most dangerous law issued by ‘Israel' since 1967."

The "Israeli" entity occupied the West Bank in the Six-Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed east al-Quds in a move never recognized by the international community.

According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, the bill would legalize some 3,881 settlement units.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team