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Israel legalizes settler homes on private Palestinian land

A general view picture shows home in the Israeli outpost of Palgey Maim, in the occupied West Bank February 6, 2017. REUTERS/BAZ RATNER Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett gestures during a vote on a bill at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 6, 2017. REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD By Maayan Lubell | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel passed a law on Monday retroactively legalizing about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a measure that has drawn international concern. The legislation has been condemned by Palestinians as a blow to their hopes of statehood. But its passage may only be largely symbolic as it contravenes Israeli Supreme Court rulings on property rights. Israel's attorney-general has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not defend it at the Supreme Court. Though the legislation, passed by a vote of 60 to 52, was backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, i