Coalition Mulls Legalizing Illegal Settlement

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled a special cabinet meeting to discuss the possibility sanctioning the West Bank outpost of Ulpana Hill through High Court-bypassing legislation.

The meeting, due to be held on Friday, will be the first to include Kadima head and new Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, following a recently signed unity government deal.

Earlier this week, the High Court of Justice ordered the demolition of illegally-built structures in the Ulpana Hill neighborhood of the Beit El settlement, rejecting the state’s request to postpone the ruling. The structures, built on private Palestinian land, are due to be demolished by July 1.

Following that ruling, top officials, such as Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, and Transportation Minister Yaakov Katz urged Netanyahu to form a High Court-bypassing law that would enable the government to approve Ulpana hill despite the ruling.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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