Israel scraps settler legalisation bill
Israeli MPs yesterday voted down the preliminary reading of a draft bill that would have retroactively legalised settler homes built on private Palestinian land.
The 22-69 vote effectively thwarted an attempt to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling ordering the removal of five buildings from a settlement outpost known as the Ulpana neighbourhood by July 1.
The planned demolition, which would affect 142 people, has sparked fury among settlers and their supporters in parliament.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposed the bill on the grounds that it would create an international backlash, had reportedly threatened to sack any cabinet minister or deputy who backed the proposed legislation.
Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International yesterday urged Israel to free all Palestinians held without charges under so called "administrative detention" orders or give them a swift and fair trial.
"Release all administrative detainees unless they are promptly charged with internationally recognisable criminal offences and tried in accordance with international fair trial standards," it said in a new report.
"End the practise of administrative detention," it added.
Administrative detention is a procedure dating back to the pre-1948 British Mandate under which military courts can hold suspects without charge for periods of up to six months, which can be renewed indefinitely.
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