Legalize it! Israel committee defies UN, backs settlement expansion

Israel’s outposts on the West Bank which have been condemned as illegal by the UN should be authorized, said an Israeli committee. The settlements are a constant source of conflict and have been repeatedly ruled as a violation of international law by the

The so-called “outpost committee” appointed by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in January said that it recommends the legalization of the outposts on the basis that the territory was not occupied.

“Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered illegal,” claimed the report published by the committee.

The report stressed that the image “that has been displayed before us regarding Israeli settlement activity in Judea and Samaria does not befit the behavior of a state [Israel] that prides itself on, and is committed to, the rule of law.”