Israel has scrapped parts of a law banning settlers from some parts of the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s parliament has overturned part of a law banning illegal settlements in part of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The law has been in effect since 2005, when Israeli settlers from the northern region of the occupied West Bank were expelled during Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The move fulfills a long-held goal of the far-right politicians who dominate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.
It is the latest in a series of government initiatives to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
But what is behind this step?
Presenter: Nastasya Tay
Guests:
Akiva Eldar – Columnist and author of Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel’s Settlements in the Occupied Territories
Nour Odeh – Political analyst and former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Public Diplomacy Task Force
Michael Omer-Man – Research Director for Israel-Palestine at Democracy for the Arab World Now, a non-profit organization that supports human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
