ISRAEL'S KNESSET PASSES BILL LEGALIZING 4000 SETTLER HOMES: The

The Israeli Knesset on Mon. night 7 Feb. 2017, voted in favor of legislation that would see thousands of housing units in Judea & Samaria outposts legalized, in a move that is already causing widespread criticism. The Regulation Law legalizes and protects thousands of Jewish homes in Judea & Samaria which were built with government backing and no knowledge of the existence of absentee land owners, but against which there are now claims of property ownership. Under the Regulation Law, the homes built on such properties will be allowed to remain, and owners with proven claims to the land will be given a choice of receiving an alternate plot of land or monetary compensation for 125% of their land's value. The law has been condemned by the previous USA administration of Barack Obama, the European Union, the UN and Israel’s own attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, who has warned that it marks the first time Israeli legislation explicitly affirms government support for the settlements, and would openly curtail property rights of Palestinians in Judea & Samaria. (Times of Israel/Arutz-7/i24)