Palestinian gov't cautions Israel on sovereignty law over West Bank settlement

RAMALLAH, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian government on Sunday cautioned against the Israeli bill aimed at applying Israeli law over Jewish settlement built in the West Bank.

The bill is being discussed by a ministerial committee in the Israeli Knesset.

Palestinian government spokesperson Yousef Al-Mahmoud said in an emailed statement that "applying Israeli sovereignty over settlements represents a colonial race to imposing more control over our lands, and consolidates occupation."

"Israel must rather be dismantling its settlements away from our Palestinian lands," he said. "Settlements are an arm of this hideous occupation."

He accused Israel of trying to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital over the 1967 borders, defying international legitimacy resolutions.

Last month, the ruling right wing Likud adopted a law that calls for applying Israeli laws and sovereignty over all settlements built in the West Bank.

Palestinians slammed the Likud announcement, which was supported by some 900 Likud members who signed a memorandum to the party, urging it to adopt the law to consolidate the U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Enditem