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Panel urges legalizing West Bank outposts

A Palestinian carries her baby past a tent with graffiti reading "Susya 4Ever" before a demonstration against the demolition orders from the Israeli Civil Administration to raze the entire village of Susya, West Bank, June 22, 2012. UPI/Debbie Hill
A Palestinian carries her baby past a tent with graffiti reading "Susya 4Ever" before a demonstration against the demolition orders from the Israeli Civil Administration to raze the entire village of Susya, West Bank, June 22, 2012. UPI/Debbie Hill | License Photo

JERUSALEM, July 9 (UPI) -- A government-appointed committee in Israel recommended Israeli outposts on the West Bank be legalized and said Israel is not an occupying force.

In a report completed in June and made public Monday, the committee formed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for annulment of laws, High Court of Justice rulings and procedures so Jews could settle in the entire West Bank legally, Haaretz reported.

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The committee, headed by former court Vice President Edmond Levy, was established in January.

The report stands in sharp contrast to a 2005 report that characterized 120 West Bank outposts as illegal.

"I was very surprised," attorney Talia Sasson, who wrote the 2005 report, told Ynetnews.com. "How can this report, which is supposed to reflect the current situation, fail to represent the situation that has been upheld by the High Court of Justice for the past 45 years?"

That view holds the West Bank territories have been "occupied territories" since being captured from the Jordan in 1967.

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