Settler eviction from outpost to go ahead: Israel court

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel's High Court on Monday rejected a government request to delay the eviction of Jewish settlers from an illegal outpost built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank, Israeli media has reported.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that a Dec. 25 deadline for the settlers’ eviction from the Amona outpost would stand despite government attempts to postpone the move.

The issue has led to friction within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition government, with Education Minister Naftali Bennett pushing for a bill to retroactively legalize settler outposts, which -- unlike government-sponsored settlements -- are considered illegal under Israeli and international law.

Israel's Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the bill Sunday, meaning it will go to a vote in parliament later this week.

Bennett has pushed ahead with the bill despite opposition from Netanyahu and widespread criticism that the move would violate international law.

Bennett told reporters in Jerusalem on Monday that the bill differentiated between outposts set up with government support and those without, going on to claim that places like Amona should not be described as "outposts".

"If someone just goes up to some hill in an unstructured manner without the backing of the government of Israel, it certainly will not apply," he said.

"But if 30 years ago, the government of Israel set up a town, it needs to back its own people," Bennett added.

All settlement-building in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is considered illegal under international law.

Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mendelblit, for his part, has warned that the proposed legislation threatened to harm Israel's international reputation.

"By approving this bill, the government made theft a part of its official policy and took another step on the way towards a one-state reality," Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said in a statement.

"Such action is contrary to international law, Jewish values and basic common sense, and was even deemed unconstitutional by the attorney-general," it added.

According to Hanan Ashrawi, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s department for culture and information, the bill represents "the continued theft of Palestinian land and resources".