חוק להסדרת ההתיישבות ביהודה והשומרון, התשע"ז-2017Law for the Regulation of Settlement in Judea and Samaria, 2017 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

The Law to Regulate Settlement in Judea and Samaria, 2017, is intended to regulate Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria that were built or expanded without an orderly planning process on land whose use rights are not held by state authorities, where this was done in good faith or with the consent of state authorities. Under the law, if a person has not proven ownership of the land, it will be registered in the name of the Custodian of Government Property in the Judea and Samaria Area, and if a person has proven ownership of the land, the use rights will be expropriated and transferred to the Custodian, and that person will be entitled to usage fees for the land or to alternative land. In addition, the law provides that a holder of rights in the land who considers himself harmed by the expropriation may file an objection with an objections committee, and that the expropriation will remain in effect until a political decision is made regarding the status of the area and the Israeli settlement therein. It is also provided that until the completion of the planning procedures, enforcement proceedings and orders issued in connection with structures in these settlements will be suspended, and they will expire upon completion of the planning procedures, except where a judicial decision or judgment has been given regarding the implementation of those orders.

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Sponsors

Bezalel Smotrich, Yoav Kisch, Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, David Bitan, Oren Asaf Hazan

What was said in the plenum

The law is intended to retroactively regularize Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria that was built in good faith on land later found to be partly privately owned, establishing a compensation mechanism for landowners and preventing the eviction of homes as a result of legal petitions. The debate focused on whether the law is a moral and necessary act to protect settlers and realize Israeli sovereignty, or an act of unlawful seizure and annexation that contravenes international law, the position of the Attorney General, and the principle of separation of powers, and that would endanger Israel in the international arena and before the Supreme Court.

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An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. A very long debate: every speech was shortened to the same length before summarising. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2, 3

Reservations to the second reading

227 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.

The reservations submitted by opposition factions sought to delete or substantially change the main provisions of the law, including its name, definitions, and regularization mechanisms, on the grounds that it facilitates the taking of private Palestinian land; in contrast, a few reservations by Knesset Member Smotrich sought to expand the possibilities for regularization and legalization.

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By faction

• Zionist Union opposition · 224 reservations · 24 members
• Joint List opposition · 224 reservations · 13 members
• Meretz opposition · 224 reservations · 5 members
• Yesh Atid opposition · 139 reservations · 11 members
• Jewish Home coalition · 3 reservations · 1 member

A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.

Asked to speak: Israel Eichler (United Torah Judaism), Orly Levi-Abekasis (Yisrael Beytenu), Shuli Moalem-Refaeli (Jewish Home)

Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF)