Israel’s legislature passed a law on February 6, 2017
retroactively legalizing Jewish settlements on privately owned Palestinian
land. Incredibly, the state’s own attorney general said he would not defend the
new law in court because he had determined the law to unconstitutional and in
violation of international law. Anat Ben Nun of an anti-settlement group said
the law was “deteriorating Israel’s democracy, making stealing an official
policy.”[1]
Specifically, the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including those
offered financial compensation for the “long term use of their land” but without
being able to reclaim their property under the new law, “are not Israeli
citizens and cannot vote for candidates for Israel’s Parliament, or Kenesset.”[2]
I submit nevertheless that the underlying casualty in this case is the rule of
law itself.
The full essay is at "Israel Legalizes Illegal Settlements."
1. Ian Fisher, “Israel Passes Provocative Legislation to Retroactively Legalize
Settlements,” The New York Times, February
7, 2017.
2. Ibid.
