Israel MPs gives initial backing

The Israeli parliament yesterday gave initial approval to a bill to legalise thousands of West Bank settler homes, a measure drawing international anger and posing the government's biggest test since 2015 polls.

The measure, which would apply to an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Jewish homes in the occupied West Bank, requires three more full parliamentary votes to become law.

There have been reports that a behind-the-scenes compromise could see the bill now stall.

The vote in the Knesset, or parliament, was 58-50.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially opposed the bill, fearing an international backlash and legal implications, but voted in favour yesterday.

Netanyahu faces pressure to hold his right-wing coalition together and not be seen as moving against the powerful settler movement.

There has been speculation that the bill could even cause the government to collapse -- though a number of analysts caution that a compromise seems more likely for now.

Palestinian landowners would be offered compensation in exchange, but Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit says the move would undermine private property laws.

US President Barack Obama's administration says it is "deeply concerned."

The international community considers all Israeli settlements in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank to be illegal, whether they are authorised by the government or not.