The Israeli Parliament has finalised a controversial law legalising dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
The law, approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against, passed its third and final reading on 6th Feb 2017.
This after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had updated the US administration on the issue.
The law met with fierce opposition within the Parliament, with warnings that it would harm Israel, and the United Nations saying it would diminish chances for peace.
Ahead of the vote, opposition chief and Labour leader Isaac Herzog lashed out against the “despicable law” that he said would undermine the country’s Jewish majority.
The law would “annex millions of Palestinians into Israel”, he warned, and expose Israeli soldiers and politicians to lawsuits at international criminal courts.
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis of Netanyahu’s Likud party said the argument was over the right to the Land of Israel.
The law is seen by critics as promoting at least partial annexation of the West Bank, a key demand for parts of Netanyahu’s right - wing cabinet, including the hardline Jewish Home party.
Last week, the few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land.
