How problematic are illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank?
Israel has scrapped parts of a law barring settlers from some areas of the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s parliament has overturned part of a law that banned illegal settlements in an area of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The law has been in place since 2005, when Israeli settlers were moved out of the northern region of the occupied West Bank during Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
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The move fulfils a long-held goal of the far-right politicians who dominate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.
It is the latest in a series of initiatives by the government to increase Israeli settlement across the West Bank.
But what’s behind this move?
Presenter: Nastasya Tay
Guests:
Akiva Eldar – Columnist and author of Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel’s Settlements in the Occupied Territories
Nour Odeh – Political analyst and former spokeswoman for the Palestinian task force on public diplomacy
Michael Omer-Man – Director of research for Israel-Palestine at Democracy for the Arab World Now, a non-profit organisation that supports human rights in the Middle East and North Africa