Israel has passed a controversial bill that drew condemnation from the government's own top lawyer legalising thousands of settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank.
The law, approved by 60 members of parliament to 52 against, passed its third and final reading after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had updated the United States administration on the issue.
The move is seen as another step towards at least partial annexation of the West Bank, and could lead to a host of illegal settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land being legalised retroactively.
International law considers all settlements to be illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, dubbed outposts.
The so-called "Regulation Bill" applies to around 4,000 settlement homes in the West Bank for which settlers could prove ignorance that they had built on privately owned land and had received encouragement from the Israeli state to do so.
The bill was a key demand for parts of Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, including the hardline Jewish Home party, who argue that settlers would be able to live without fear of being driven from their homesmany of which they have lived in for years.
Human rights groups and legal experts, however, warned that it would violate property rights.
The government's attorney general has stated that the bill was unconstitutional and would contradict Israel's legal obligations under international law, while Israeli MK Tzipi Livni warned that it would lead Israeli soldiers to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"This law will make theft an official Israeli policy by retroactively legalising illegal construction on private lands," said Anat Ben Nun, spokesman for the anti-settlement organization Peace Now.
The bill would apply to 53 other outposts and homes within existing settlements recognised by Israel built on Palestinian land, according to Peace Now.
More than 3,800 homes would be "legalised", the NGO stated.
Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from West Jerusalem, said: "Palestinians are simply being forced to do this ... The Palestinian Authority says it has to see what happens next, and [will decide] whether they have to go to the ICC or the UN."
The White House had expressed reservations over Israel's settlement enterprise, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he wanted to coordinate with Washington, leading to speculation the bill's final readings would be postponed again.
However, doubts were lifted when the premier told reporters accompanying him to London on Monday that the vote would go ahead after he had "updated" President Donald Trump's administration, a spokesman for Netanyahu told the AFP news agency.
The parliamentary session ahead of the final readings began on Monday afternoon but was adjourned a short while later after all opposition members withdrew their reservations.
Dov Khenin of the Arab Joint List said the opposition would not cooperate with the bill's legislative process, accusing its proponents of acting counter to regulations.
Though passed, the bill could still be challenged.
Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said last week: "The chance that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court is 100 percent."
Our correspondent stated that the Palestinian land owners could take their case to the Supreme Court as early as Tuesday.
Amona demolitions
Last week, a few hundred residents of the Amona outpost in the West Bank were evicted after the Supreme Court ruled their homes were built on private Palestinian land.
In parliament on Monday, Shuli Mualem of the Jewish Home dedicated the law to the people evicted from Amona.
The lengthy Amona sagaincluding the evictions broadcast live on Israeli televisiondirectly inspired the bill.
Demolitions and removal of the buildings there began on Monday.
Nickolay Mladenov, UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, said on Monday that he was "concerned" by the recent bill as it would "enable the continued use of privately owned Palestinian land for Israeli settlements".
"If adopted into law, it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace," he also stated.
Since Trump's inauguration, Israel has announced more than 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, seen as key parts of any future Palestinian state.
For the first time last week Trump's administration said settlement expansion "may not be helpful" for peace prospects, but also broke with previous administrations by saying settlements were not an obstacle to peace.
The White House statement was interpreted as a message to Netanyahu and his government that the United States administration intended to reserve its options.
"President Donald Trump hasn't been as strong on condementaion of settlements as previous US administrations," a News Media a News Media correspondent stated. "With this bill, Netanyahu is playing to his domestic audience ... supporters have been pushing him to go even further. He can simply turn around and say, 'I tried my hardest'."
Under the bill, Palestinian owners would be ficially compensated by Israel, but could not sell their land.
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Aljazeera