Harsh International Reaction to Israeli Settlement Regulation Law

France, the United Nations and the European Union all sharply condemned a new Israeli law that retroactively legalizes 4000 homes built in outposts in the West Bank, including about 700 on private Palestinian land. The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah) and the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center said they are appealing the law to the Israeli Supreme Court today, and they are confident it will be struck down. If the law is not repealed by Israel’s Supreme Court, it “would open the way to the annexation of the occupied territories,” French President Francois Hollande said when he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris. “This law is contrary to international law. It’s an aggression against our people,” Abbas said. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini said “this law crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalizing under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property.” Israel acquired the West Bank in 1967, but unlike east Jerusalem, did not annex it. While the Jewish settlers who live there are Israeli citizens, the Palestinians are not, and the territory is formally under military law. Those in Israel who oppose Israeli settlements say that Israel is obligated to protect the rights of Palestinians living in the West Bank, especially their property. The right-wing in Israel has long been pushing to apply Israeli sovereignty to parts of Area C, which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank, to make sure it will never be given to the Palestinians as part of any future Palestinian state.