The Israeli Knesset revealed, on Wednesday, details of two bills regarding the annexation of the West Bank and one of the settlements, which were approved by the Knesset in a preliminary reading today.
The Knesset stated in a statement published on its website: "The Knesset's plenum approved in a preliminary reading the bill to apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel over the areas of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), presented by MK Avi Maoz (from the right-wing Noam faction)."
It added: "25 Knesset members supported the bill, while 24 opposed it, and it will be referred to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for discussion" before being presented for a first reading out of three readings before it becomes an enforceable law.
According to the statement, the text of the bill proposes that "the laws of the State of Israel and its judicial authority and administration and sovereignty will be applied to all areas of the settlements in Judea and Samaria," meaning the West Bank.
It stated: "The explanatory notes of the bill indicate that on the seventy-seventh anniversary of the national revival of the State of Israel (the 1948 War), and the fifty-eighth anniversary of the return of the Jewish people to their historical homeland in Judea and Samaria (the 1967 War), and based on our natural and historical right, and in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly resolution, it is proposed that the State of Israel apply its laws and sovereignty over the settlement areas in Judea and Samaria.
This is to solidify the status of these areas as an integral part of the sovereign State of Israel."
It is worth noting that the United Nations General Assembly issued Resolution 181 in November 1947, which called for the partition of Palestine into two states: Jewish (about 55 percent of the land) and Arab (about 45 percent), with a special status for Jerusalem under international administration.
This contradicts what Israel claims regarding the West Bank, which was not included in the proposed borders of the Jewish state at that time.
If Israel annexes the West Bank, it would mean the end of the possibility of implementing the two-state solution (Palestinian and Israeli), which is stipulated in resolutions issued by the United Nations.
The second bill that the Knesset voted on in a preliminary reading stated: "The Knesset's plenum voted in favor in a preliminary reading of the bill to apply sovereignty over Ma'ale Adumim (a settlement in the West Bank), presented by MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) and a group of Knesset members."
It added: "In the vote, 32 Knesset members supported the bill against 9 opponents, and the bill will be referred to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for discussion before being presented for the first reading out of three readings to become an enforceable law."
It noted that "the bill proposes to apply the laws of the State of Israel and its judicial authority and administration to the Ma'ale Adumim area."
It stated: "The explanatory notes of the bill indicate that the city (settlement) of Ma'ale Adumim was established in 1977, and over the years it has grown to become a city with a population of about 40,000."
It added: "The city is located about 7 kilometers east of Jerusalem, along the Jerusalem - Dead Sea road, at a strategically important crossroads to secure the route to Jerusalem."
It continued: "Ma'ale Adumim is located in an area that has always been an integral part of the historical land of Israel," according to its expressions.
The Knesset claimed that "according to the explanatory notes, there is broad agreement, in Israel and internationally, regarding the application of Israeli sovereignty over Ma'ale Adumim."
Ma'ale Adumim is located east of occupied Jerusalem and is one of the largest settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Its annexation would isolate East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings to the east and divide the West Bank into two parts.
Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, in a move considered a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and principles of international law.
Since then, the United Nations has emphasized in its resolutions the necessity of Israel's withdrawal from the territories it occupied in 1967, considering the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territories, over which Israel has no right to impose its sovereignty or change its demographic and legal character.
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شارك برأيك
The Knesset reveals details of two bills to annex the West Bank and a settlement to Israel.