Regulation Law
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The Judea and Samaria Settlement Regulation Law ( he, חוק להסדרת ההתיישבות ביהודה והשומרון), commonly known as the Regulation Law ( he, חוק ההסדרה) or sometimes the Regularization Law, is an
Israeli law Israeli law is based mostly on a common law legal system, though it also reflects the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman, th ...
that aims to retroactively legalize
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
Area C under the
Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;
. It is meant to "regulate" the status of about 2,000 to 4,000 residences in 16 settlements which were built on
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
-owned lands. The
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
passed the legislation 60 to 52, on February 6, 2017. According to the law, the land on which the residences are built will remain that of the legal owners, but their usage will be
expropriated Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
by the State. In exchange, the Palestinian owners will be compensated at a rate of 125%, or receive alternate lands (whenever possible). The law is known by some of its critics as the "Expropriation Law" () due to its land expropriation components. The
Israeli occupation Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...
of the West Bank is considered a
breach Breach, Breached, or The Breach may refer to: Places * Breach, Kent, United Kingdom * Breach, West Sussex, United Kingdom * ''The Breach'', Great South Bay in the State of New York People * Breach (DJ), an Electronic/House music act * Miroslava ...
of international law, though Israel disputes this. On 9 June 2020, the
Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...
revoked the law, ordering the government to cancel its implementation.


Background

During the last decade of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, a number of outposts as well as neighborhoods in established settlements, were built in areas that are listed in the Judea and Samaria
land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, a ...
as lands privately owned by Palestinians. At the beginning of the 21st century, several of these Palestinian owners petitioned the
Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...
, claiming those residencies were built on their own private land. In some of these instances, the Court acknowledged their property rights and directed to demolish houses, such as: at a neighborhood in
Beit El Beit El or Beth El ( he, בֵּית אֵל) is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. The Orthodox Jewish town was settled in 1977-78 by the ultranationalist group Gush Emunim. It is located in ...
, at the
Amona Amona may refer to: Places * Amona, Goa, a village in Goa, India *Amona, Mateh Binyamin, an Israeli outpost in the central West Bank *Isla de Mona, known in the pre-Columbian era as Amona Other *"Amona", a song on the album ''Necessary Evil A ne ...
outpost, nine houses in
Ofra Ofra ( he, עֹפְרָה) is an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus (Route 60), it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In it had a population ...
, and more. Great efforts by the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
to prevent these demolitions resulted in some of the proceeding extending over the course of years, but did not end up halting the demolitions. To prevent this from reoccurring, MPs of parties from the right drafted legislation that would prevent such judicial rulings of demolition of houses in the settlements of Judea and Samaria.


Supreme Court challenge

On February 8, 2017 the law was brought before the Supreme Court of Israel by 17 Palestinian local governments and three human rights organizations.
Attorney General of Israel The attorney general of Israel ( he, היועץ המשפטי לממשלה, ''Ha-Yo'etz Ha-Mishpati La-Memshala'', lit. ''Legal Advisor to the Government'') heads the legal system of the executive branch and the public prosecution of the state. ...
Avichai Mandelblit Avichai Mandelblit ( he, אביחי מנדלבליט; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who served as the Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually serv ...
has announced that he will not be defending the law on behalf of the government at the Supreme Court because he deems it
unconstitutional Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...
, and that it may lead to a suit against
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
at the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
.
Israeli Justice Minister The Justice Ministry ( he, מִשְׂרָד הַמִשְׁפָּטִים, ''Misrad HaMishpatim''; ar, وزارة العدل) is the Israeli government ministry that oversees the Israeli judicial system. Since 13 June 2021, Israel's Minister of Ju ...
Ayelet Shaked Ayelet Shaked (; he, אַיֶּילֶת שָׁקֵד; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli politician, activist, and software engineer currently serving as Minister of Interior. She served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home from 2013 to ...
, whose party
The Jewish Home The Jewish Home ( he, הַבַּיִת הַיְהוּדִי, HaBayit HaYehudi) is an Orthodox Jewish and religious Zionist political party in Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the ...
was behind the legislation, responded by saying that the State plans to hire a private lawyer to represent it.


International reactions

Speaking for the
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
,
Palestinian President The president of the State of Palestine is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in par ...
Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...
has termed the law "an aggression against our people". The law has also been criticized internationally, including by allies of Israel. UN envoy for the Middle East peace process
Nickolay Mladenov Nikolay Evtimov Mladenov ( bg, Николай Евтимов Младенов; born 5 May 1972) is a Bulgarian politician and diplomat who served as Bulgaria's Minister of Defense from 27 July 2009 to 27 January 2010 and as the minister of fore ...
said the law "crosses a very thick red line." EU foreign policy chief
Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...
stated that: "The European Union condemns the recent adoption of the 'Regularisation Law,'" adding that it "crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalizing under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property rights."
Tobias Ellwood Tobias Martin Ellwood (born 12 August 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician and soldier who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth East since 2005. He has chaired the Defence Select Committee since 2020 and was a G ...
UK Minister for the Middle East and Africa had said that: "As a longstanding friend of Israel, I condemn the passing of the Land Regularisation Bill by the Knesset, which damages Israel’s standing with its international partners." The
German Foreign Ministry , logo = DEgov-AA-Logo en.svg , logo_width = 260 px , image = Auswaertiges Amt Berlin Eingang.jpg , picture_width = 300px , image_caption = Entrance to the Foreign Office building , headquarters = Werderscher Mark ...
stated that its "trust in the Israeli government’s commitment to the two-state solution” had been "fundamentally shaken". As well, French Ambassador to Israel, Hélène Le Gal, said that the law brought Israel to "a path which is not leading to peace".


See also

*
Israeli land and property laws Land and property laws in Israel are the property law component of Israeli law, providing the legal framework for the ownership and other ''in rem'' rights towards all forms of property in Israel, including real estate (land) and movable property. ...
*
Status of territories captured by Israel The status of territories captured by Israel is the status of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula; all of which were captured by Israel over the course of the 1967 Six-Day War. The Sinai peninsula status wa ...
*
Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...
*
Israeli-occupied territories Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em


External links


Knesset passes settlement regulation law
at the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
website 2017 in Israel 2017 in law 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Israeli laws Israeli settlement Judea and Samaria Area Real property law