Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 17, 2018
From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 17, 2018
US mum on Israeli effort to legalize West Bank outposts
The Trump administration is refusing to comment on an Israeli push to retroactively authorize dozens of illegal outposts deep in the West Bank.
When asked to react by The Times of Israel, a spokesperson for the State Department says, “Since this is about Israeli legislation, they refer you to the Government of Israel.”
A White House spokesperson also declines comment.
The unauthorized Rosh Yosef outpost, near the settlement of Itamar, in the West Bank in April 2018. (Shlomo Melet)
Previous administrations have vociferously protested Israeli settlement building, but the Trump administration has rarely offered criticism.
The law, okayed by ministers on Sunday, would allow the attorney general to give a legal imprimatur to 66 outposts built on state land throughout the West Bank. The measure must still pass the Knesset.
— with Eric Cortellessa
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