Israeli parliament moves forward bill to expropriate private Palestinian lands

The Israeli parliament on Monday night gave preliminary approval to a bill to allow the State to expropriate private Palestinian lands in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.


The controversial legislation passed its first hurdle with a 60-49 vote but still needs to be voted in three more readings in the 120-member parliament.

A previous version of the bill passed a preliminary reading last month.

It triggered international criticism while its main supporter, Education Minister Naftali Bennet, hailing it as a first step towards an annexation of the West Bank.

The bill was the result of a compromise between the ruling coalition's far-right party of the Jewish Home, and the center-right Kulanu party.

The new version excluded a clause which would have allowed the government to legalize the unauthorized outpost of Amona retroactively.

Under the new bill, the ownership of private Palestinian lands would remain Palestinian, but the State of Israel could expropriate the right to use the land.

The law would apply to settlements that the government involved in their construction, and not to outposts that the government did not approve. Israel would financially compensate Palestinian landowners, "after they had proved their ownership over the land," the bill read.

The next vote on the bill was scheduled for Wednesday.
 [Xinhua/china]

6/12/16