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Netanyahu deal on West Bank settlements dims hope for peace process

Palestinian Authority calls on the international community to halt implementation.
An Israeli settler surrounded by Israeli security forces holds national flags.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is tasked with forming the Israeli government, and leader of the far-right Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed on Nov. 16 to legalize 65 settlement outposts within 60 days of forming the new government and amend the Disengagement Law under which Israel dismantled four settlements in the northern West Bank and all settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The amendment allows the return of settlers to the four evacuated West Bank settlements, including the controversial Homesh settlement located between Jenin and Nablus, which includes a makeshift religious school attended by tens of thousands of settlers.

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