Israel PM Seeks to Legalize 3 Settler Outposts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek to legalize three settler outposts established illegally in the West Bank, he told his government on Wednesday.

"It is my intention to bring to the government in the near future a recommendation from the defense minister, and the necessary permissions, for regulating the status of the communities of Bruchin, Sansana and Rekhelim," he said.

Netanyahu said he would also seek a way to avoid the demolition of a fourth outpost, Ulpana.

"I have asked the attorney general to find a solution to the Ulpana neighborhood in order to prevent it from being demolished," he said.

The Israeli government has been seeking ways to legalize some of the outpost settlements established in the West Bank without government permission as anti-settlement activists have sought court orders requiring they be demolished.

The international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, whether established with or without Israeli government permission, to be illegal and a violation of international law.