By:  ICEJ News

Israel’s Knesset passed a historic bill Monday evening retroactively legalizing nearly 4,000 homes built over the last several years in various communities in the West Bank on land whose ownership is disputed. It also imposes Israeli law in parts of Area C, setting in motion what many on the Left decried as a step towards Israeli annexation of the disputed territories. Several NGOs announced plans to challenge the move in the courts while Palestinian leaders warned that it was the beginning of the end of hopes for a Two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This is a historic step toward the completion of a process that we plan to lead; the application of full Israeli sovereignty on all the cities and communities in Judea and Samaria,” said MK Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi).

“Our determination paid off,” declared Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennet, adding his thanks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party for supporting the vote. “To our friends in the opposition who are surprised that a nationalist government would pass a bill in favor of the settlements – that’s democracy.”

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned that the legislation would almost certainly lead to Israel being sued at the International Court in The Hague, while Left-wing NGOs promised to bring the matter before Israel’s Supreme Court.

Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit predicted that the legislation would be easily overturned in the courts, citing over 40 years worth of rulings against the legalization of Israeli-built structures on land owned by private Palestinian interests.

Elsewhere, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov lamented that “If adopted into law, it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. The bill has been deemed unconstitutional by the attorney-general of Israel and is in contravention of international law. I urge Israeli legislators to reconsider this move.”

Finally, Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee, issued a press release declaring that “Israel’s ‘Legalizing theft’ law is another affirmation by the Israeli government for the Israeli settlers and occupation forces to continue their attacks against the land and people of Palestine. The International community has the responsibility to take concrete measures to protect the Palestinian people under Israel’s military rule, rather than merely issuing statements. It’s long overdue to hold Israel accountable for its systematic violations of international law.”