Netanyahu pledges no new settlements after US slams 2005 law repeal

PM Binyamin Netanyahu pledged his government would refrain from building new settlements after the State Department summoned Israeli ambassador Mike Herzog over Knesset legislation repealing the part of the 2005 Disengagement Law applying to the northern West Bank. This was a clause of the law under which a previous government executed the evacuation of the Gaza Strip. US officials also advised the envoy of the importance of avoiding steps liable to further inflame tensions at a time of three major festivals Ramadan, Passover and Easter. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s claim earlier this week that the Palestinian people are an “invention” was one example.