West Bank village objects plan to resettle Jewish settlers

Head of the West Bank village of Amona filed Monday an objection to Israel's plan to resettle the Jewish settlers from the unauthorized outpost of Amona on lands declared as "abandoned."

Under the controversial plan, thousands of settler homes will be moved from Amona, which a court order required to be evicted by December, to three nearby Palestinian plots that Israel has declared as "abandoned."

The petition was filed by Yesh Din, an Israel-based human rights group, on behalf of Abd a-Rahman Mustafa Salah, head of the Silwad Village Council.

According to the objection, the "decision to establish a settlement for the benefit of the occupying power's population is prohibited according to international law, and is thus illegal."

The plan, approved by Israel's Attorney General on Sunday, aims at putting an end to a political crisis that threatens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition.

The new plots are close to Amona, some of the settler homes are planned to be moved by a few meters only. Netanyahu pushed the plan forward, hoping it will satisfy the settlers and the far-right Jewish Home faction, Netanyahu's coalition partner, which has threatened to quit the coalition if the evacuation does not take place.

Later on Monday, the Knesset (parliament) is expected to vote on a new draft of a bill to bypass the court ruling to evacuate Amona in preliminary reading.

Amona, east of Ramallah city, is the largest among the so-called "unauthorized outposts," communities built by far-right Israelis without permits from the government. There are about 100 unauthorized outposts, and another 120 settlements that Israel considers legal.

Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on the lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War. Endit