(VOVworld) – By a vote of 60-52, the Israeli parliament approved a controversial bill on Monday legalizing 4,000 homes built illegally in the Palestine-occupied West Bank.

Settlement homes in the West Bank (Photo: VNA)

On behalf of the government, Science Minister Ofir Akunis of the governing Likud Party said the vote was not just about this particular law but about the right of the Jewish people to live in Israel.