Israel court sticks to deadline for controversial settlement

Jerusalem: Israel's high court Monday rejected a government bid to delay the evacuation of a wildcat Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank beyond a December deadline, in a case that has drawn international concern.

The Amona settlement is under a court order to be evacuated by December 25 since it was built on private Palestinian land, but right-wing politicians have called for the around 40 families living in the outpost to be allowed to remain.

"The evacuation must occur before December 25," the court said in its ruling. "The court rejects the delay requested by the state."

Whether the government moves ahead with the demolition of the outpost has been seen as a test case of if it will heed international calls to halt continued settlement growth in the West Bank.

Israel's government, which had sought a seven-month delay while it considered where to move the Amona settlers, is seen as the most right-wing in the country's history.

Key members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition advocate settlement building while openly opposing the idea of a Palestinian state.

"We're aware of the duress of the Amona residents and are acting in different ways to solve the problem," Netanyahu told lawmakers from his Likud party on Monday.

The high court ruled in 2014 that Amona, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank, must be evacuated.

There are concerns over how any evacuation will play out.

In 2006, the demolition of nine permanent houses in the outpost led to clashes between settlers and Israeli forces.

With the Amona deadline in mind, a committee of Israeli ministers on Sunday approved a bill that would allow for the legalisation of homes there and elsewhere in the West Bank.

The legislation would allow for the legalisation of settlement homes built on private Palestinian land in communities that meet certain criteria.

The Palestinian landowners would be offered compensation in return for the land being seized.

The legislation is expected to apply to between 2,000 and 3,000 settler homes in the West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Six Day War and which the Palestinians want for a future state of their own.

The bill must still be approved by Israel's Knesset, or parliament.

The international community considers all Israeli settlements in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank to be illegal, whether they are authorised by the government or not.

The Israeli government differentiates between those it has approved and those it has not.

Those like Amona are considered outposts as they have not been given Israeli government approval.

Settlements are seen as a major stumbling blocks to peace efforts as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Some 400,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank, compared to around 2.6 million Palestinians.

The United States, the European Union and UN officials have warned that settlement building is eating away at the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict.