Skip to main content

Israel Likud votes in favour of annexing illegal settlements in occupied West Bank

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party voted unanimously on Sunday to urge Knesset legislators to effectively annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

While Israel’s illegal settlers on the West Bank are subject to Israeli civilian law, the land they stole is under military jurisdiction.

Likud members believe that transferring responsibility for the stolen land to Israeli civilian law could streamline procedures for further construction and expansion of illegal settlements.

“We will now promote the recognition of our sovereignty of the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank],” Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told the meeting of Likud’s central committee.

“We must begin to enact this sovereignty, we have the moral right and obligation towards our settler brothers.”

Mr Netanyahu did not attend the meeting, which attracted several hundred delegates including ministers, Knesset members and party officials.

In 1981, Israel enacted civilian law on Syria’s Golan Heights, which Tel Aviv captured in 1967, in a de facto illegal annexation of the area.

  • Earlier today an Israeli military court indicted 16-year-old Palestinian Ahed Tamimi and her mother Nariman over an incident last month in which they confronted occupation forces at their home in the West Bank village of Nebi Saleh.
    Ahed faces 12 counts of assaulting soldiers during the December 15 incident, while Nariman is indicted for “her involvement in the attack,” which is believed to refer to her filming the encounter and uploading it to the internet.
    The Military Advocate General recommended that both women be held in jail until the end of court proceedings.

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 13,288
We need:£ 4,712
3 Days remaining
Donate today