Netanyahu, Mofaz to oppose bill that would limit Palestinian claims to land
Legislation to be raised Wednesday aims at circumventing Supreme Court decision on outpost
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked his party to oppose a bill on West Bank outposts that is set to reach the Knesset floor Wednesday. Vice Prime Minister and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz, meanwhile, said that his party would oppose the legislation.
The bill would give Palestinian landowners four years from the date an outpost is built to present land ownership documents to a court. If they do not present the papers within that window of time, the bill states, the outpost cannot be evacuated.
“I will not go against the courts,” Mofaz said, referring to a recent Supreme Court ruling that calls for the evacuation of the Ulpana neighborhood in the Beit El settlement in the West Bank by July 1 because it was built on private Palestinian land.
Right-wing members of Netanyahu’s Likud party have pushed for legislation that would circumvent the court.
Ministers Moshe Kahlon and Yisrael Katz said they would vote for the bill. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz has also said he would not be afraid of using legislation to solve the Ulpana issue. He said the bill would not bypass the court but rather allow the Knesset to solve problems.