Israel settlement law crosses ‘thick red line’ — UN

A new Israeli law legalizing dozens of Jewish outposts built on private Palestinian land crosses a “thick red line” toward annexation of the occupied West Bank, UN envoy for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov says.

Mladenov said the bill sets a “very dangerous precedent.”

“This is the first time the Israeli Knesset (parliament) legislates in the occupied Palestinian lands and particularly on property issues,” he ells AFP. “That crosses a very thick red line.”

Some members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government have called for the annexation of much of the West Bank, a move that would end any hope of an independent Palestinian state.

“[The law] opens the potential for the full annexation of the West Bank and therefore undermines substantially the two-state solution,” Mladenov adds.

— AFP