Shtayyeh: Legalizing Illegal Settlement Outposts in Occupied West Bank Is a War Crime

Arab World

December 22nd, 7:25am

Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat

Israel’s Knesset gave initial approval to a bill that would legalize some West Bank outposts (File photo/AFP)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh condemned Monday a bill seeking to legalize outposts in the West Bank, which passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset last week, describing it as a “war crime.” “We consider this measure a war crime that will be added to the file of the International Criminal Court,” Shtayyeh said in opening remarks during the weekly meeting of the PA cabinet in Ramallah. “We want the international community to do everything possible to confront, condemn and stop the entire settlement enterprise and boycott its products.” He also called on the United Nations Security Council to implement Resolution 2334, especially regarding settlement activities. Adopted in 2016, the resolution demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities. Shtayyeh hailed the Arab support to PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to convene an international conference for peace in the Middle East, saying it would lead to “real and serious peace.” He further congratulated Christians on the occasion of Christmas, calling on the heads of the churches in Palestine to observe safety and to limit the Mass on Christmas Eve to a small number of people, committed to social distancing rules. For its part, the PLO's National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance of Settlement said in a report last week that the Knesset has started settling the outposts and the Israeli cabinet is legalizing them in advance. The Knesset gave an initial 60-40 approval to a bill that would legalize some West Bank outposts. The bill was presented by the Land of Israel Lobby, chaired by lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich. The bill, if passed into law, would legalize dozens of West Bank settlements considered illegal under current Israeli law. It would also formally allow them to be connected to electricity and water supplies.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2696966/shtayyeh-legalizing-illegal-settlement-outposts-occupied-west-bank-war-crime