Hours after Netanyahu visit, UK slams Regulation Law

The condemnation came a day after Netanyahu concluded his first visit with British Prime Minister Theresa May, during which Netanyahu declined to fully back the UK leader’s recognition of the two-state solution as the best pathway to peace.

“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,” Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood said in a statement. “It is of great concern that the bill paves the way for significant growth in settlements deep in the West Bank, threatening the viability of the two-state solution.”

Ellwood concluded his statement by reiterating Britain’s support for a two-state solution “leading to a secure Israel that is safe from terrorism, and a contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian state.”

The Knesset on Monday night passed the controversial Regulation Bill into law, 60-52. The law retroactively legalizes some 4,000 homes built by settlers on private Palestinian land across the West Bank, but is likely to be overturned by the High Court of Justice.

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