Israel: Law regularizing illegal construction in settlements invalidated

A field of olive trees around the village of the small town of Taybeh in the West Bank (illustration image). Photo by Jean-Erick PASQUIER / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Text by: Guilhem Delteil Follow

Israel cannot legalize constructions a posteriori in its West Bank settlements. A law to regularize certain houses illegally built on private Palestinian land was passed by parliament in 2017. But it was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Opponents of this law hope that this decision will also prevent the annexation of parts of the West Bank promised by Benjamin Netanyahu.

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From our correspondent in Jerusalem,

According to Israeli law, more than two thousand structures have been illegally built in the West Bank settlements. The law passed by the previous government aimed to offer them regularization in order to prevent their destruction if they had been built "in good faith" on private Palestinian land.

But at eight votes to one, the justices of the Supreme Court ruled that the law "does not meet constitutional standards" of Israel. They accuse him of violating the property rights of the Palestinians and of "creating discrimination between Israeli and Palestinian residents".

"  This is a resounding victory against the threat of immediate annexation of parts of the West Bank,  " said Adalah, an organization defending the rights of the Arab minority in Israel, which had brought the court against this law. "  The decision stresses that the Knesset cannot pass laws that violate international humanitarian law,  " she said.

The right has once again denounced the Supreme Court's "interference" in the legislative process. And Likud, the party of Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to pass a new law regularizing illegal constructions. But his coalition ally, Bleu-Blanc, is committed to enforcing this judicial decision.

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  • Israel
  • Benyamin netanyahu

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