London, February 8th 2017

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) denounces the new Israeli law which aims at legalising the already "illegal" Israeli settlements and the process of stealing Palestinian lands across the West Bank.

The new Law will allow Israel to legally grab Palestinian private land for the purpose of building Israeli settlements. The new Israeli bill adopted by Israeli Knesset known as ‘Regularization Bill’ is in contravention of international law and the various UN resolutions especially the latest UN Security Council Resolution 2334. The illegal new law targets Palestinians within the West Bank which confirms that Israel is still the occupying power.

The centre considers the new Israeli law is an attempt to make Israeli settlement legal and grant a form of immunity to settlements in the occupied West Bank that were built on Palestinian lands.

The international community has rejected this Israeli move and considered it as a breach of International law. UN Secretary-General António Guterre regretted the step while Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations' Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process described the action of right wing Israeli government as "Israel has just opened the 'floodgates', and crossed a 'very, very thick red line'." In light of this, PRC invite the International community to take serious steps to hold Israel to account in regard of this flagrant breach. Practical steps should be taken such as suspending the membership of the UN as well as this of the European Union.

The Centre reckons that the silence of International community is the motive for the constant Israeli violations of landmark human rights laws, conventions as well as various UN resolutions. The new Israeli law is an apartheid practised that crossed the red lines and remedial actions should be taken by the EU and the UN.