The State of Israel is a law-abiding democracy and as the Prime Minister of Israel I am committed to upholding the law and am I committed to uphold the settlement enterprise, and I tell you that there is no contradiction between the two. The draft law that was rejected today in the Knesset would have hurt settlement whereas the outline that I have decided upon—the expansion of the community, moving the homes and legal defense against any precedent—strengthens settlement.

West Bank settlements have sparked tension between Israel and Palestinian authorities as well as criticism by international groups. Israel responded to international investigations into these settlements by announcing [JURIST report] in March that it will sever ties to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website]. The announcement came after the UNHRC initiated its investigation to determine the effect that Israeli settlements have had on the civil, political, economic and cultural rights of the Palestinian people. Israel argued that this investigation was founded on bias against Israel. A month before, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] had urged [JURIST report] Israel to amend its policies that forbid Palestinians from traveling through and living in Gaza and the West Bank. Even in March 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called [JURIST report] in a press conference Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank "illegal."