The Israeli parliament’s adoption of a contentious law meant to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure. “We are voting tonight on our right to the land,” cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. All of it.”Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court. People walk near houses in the Israeli settlements of Ofra, in the occupied West Bank. Read: US allows UN to condemn Israeli settlements, Netanyahu furiousThe Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war — for their future state.

Source: Hindustan Times February 07, 2017 06:45 UTC