Israel Moves Ahead With ‘No Occupation’ Report’s Suggestions on West Bank
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Israel is adopting certain recommendations of a report that claims Israel is not occupying the West Bank.
The government-commissioned Report on the Legal Status of Building in Judea and Samaria, authored by former Israeli Supreme Court Judge Edmond Levy in July 2012 and often referred to as the Levy Report, says that Israel is not an occupying power in the West Bank. Based on that conclusion, the report recommended relaxing building restrictions for Israeli settlers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not called for government adoption of the report, but Haaretz reported Tuesday that Israel has taken on some of its recommendations. According to Haaretz, there has been a reduction in Israel’s exercising its right to remove settlers from private Palestinian land even if no Palestinian complains.
Haaretz also reported that Israel is considering setting up a special court for land disputes in the West Bank, a Levy Report recommendation that would remove the military from such disputes.
The United Nations and much of the world consider Israel to be the occupying power in the West Bank.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/05/27/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/israel-adopting-some-provisions-of-levy-report#ixzz32uBZkNhP
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