Israel pushes ahead with deal to authorise illegal West Bank outpost

Israel's outgoing attorney general has okayed a deal between the government and West Bank settlers that would retroactively authorise an illegal settlement outpost established without official approval, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

The move pushes forward the controversial deal, which still needs a final green light from the country's defence minister, who signed on to the plan last year. It puts further strain on the country's fragile, ideologically-diverse governing coalition, which includes parties that support and oppose peace negotiations with Palestinian.

Under the agreement reached last year, the settlers left the outpost  and the area became a closed military zone, with the houses and roads erected remaining in place.

As part of the deal, Israel carried out a survey which, according to media reports, claimed that part of the land was not owned by Palestinians, paving the way for the establishment of a religious school and for some settler families to return.

All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which was occupied in 1967, are illegal under international law.

Israel's Justice Ministry declined to comment. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli PM Naftali Bennett has vowed to legalise the settler outpost of Eviatar on Mount Sabih near the Palestinian town of Beita. Locals have been fighting back for five months.

Our West Bank reporter met some of them to find out what's next: https://t.co/R1sSfp7y7m

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) November 16, 2021

Critics said the retroactive approval of the wildcat outpost was a reward for settlers who break the law, at a time when settler violence against Palestinians has surged.

Michal Rozin, a lawmaker with the Meretz faction, which is part of the government and supports Palestinian statehood, said the approval was “a victory for the violence of the outlaws in the outposts,” noting in a tweet that the move violated the coalition's decision to avoid divisive issues to ensure its stability.

The settlers named the outpost Eviatar, after an Israeli settler killed by a Palestinian in 2013, and say it was home to dozens of families.

The deal to remove the settlers came just after the country's Israeli government was formed and appeared to have been struck as a way to avoid the media spectacle of troops forcibly dragging away Israeli settlers.

Palestinians in nearby villages say the outpost was built on their land and fear it will grow and merge with larger settlements nearby.

Before the settlers left, Palestinians held near-daily protests which were violently attacked by Israeli troops.

The Palestinians want the West Bank to form the main part of a future state but the construction of Israeli settlements has cast serious doubt on prospects for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Nearly 500,000 settlers live in more than 130 illegal settlements.

Most of these were authorized by successive Israeli governments but there are also dozens of unauthorized outposts which Israel itself views as unlawful across the occupied West Bank. Israel, however, has repeatedly granted these rogue settlements retroactive approval.