Construction underway in the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim near Jerusalem. Picture by Xinhua SIPA USA/PA Images. All rights reserved. The recent resolution passed by the Israeli parliament (Knesset), which seeks to introduce an amnesty for some 50 Israeli outposts built illegally in the West Bank, is likely to further exacerbate relations between Israel and the European partners, but succeeds in conveying a clear message to Donald Trump, whose administration, recently established, has not yet outlined its policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Voted with a narrow majority (60 to 52 out of a total of 120 members), the parliamentary decision retroactively legalizes the homes of about 4,000 settlers, whose residences were erected on private Palestinian land and are considered illegal even under Israeli law. The law was strongly supported by the religious nationalist right-wing party Jewish Home (HaBayit Hayehudi) - today in a joint government with Netanyahu’s Likud- and was presented to parliament by the rising star of the settler movement, Shuli Moalem Refaeli.
Many believe the law could be a dangerous precedent for the expansion and legalization of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land
