Netanyahu shuts down vote on Amona law

PM Netanyahu shut down discussion of the so-called “Amona law” on Sunday at the weekly gathering of the ministerial committee, just minutes before the bill was set to be voted on. The bill, which has been pushed by the Jewish Home and some members of the Likud, would normalize Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria such as Amona, providing compensation in money or alternative land to claimants, shielding the residents from ex post facto claims on the land where their homes were built. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit opposes the legislation, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has called for alternative solutions for the embattled town of Amona, which is slated for demolition by year’s end.