A/HRC/40/42 State had not provided adequate notice of the Blue Line task force finding that their land fell within the boundaries of declared “State land”, which would have allowed for a genuine opportunity to object. 17 It is of concern that the Court considered that the methods of publication provided, without a notice delivered to the owners, were sufficient. In addition to the implied violations as regards private property, 18 the Court’s decision is a further measure to allow the establishment of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. B. Legislative developments 12. During the reporting period, a number of additional legislative steps pertaining to settlements were advanced, further contributing to the de facto annexation of the West Bank. The amendment to the Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, adopted on 2 January 2018, eases the process for the modification of Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, facilitating the possible inclusion of some of the largest settlements within the municipality of Jerusalem. 19 The extension of the jurisdiction of some Israeli authorities to the West Bank, such as the Council of Higher Education in February 2018, as well as of the Jerusalem Administrative Court in July 2018, 20 represent additional steps blurring the distinction between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In addition, the Attorney General issued a directive requesting that all legislative bills systematically address the question of their applicability to settlements.21 13. In qualifying “the complete and undivided city of Jerusalem” as the capital of Israel, the Nation State Law adopted on 19 July 2018 reaffirms the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, in violation of various Security Council resolutions. 22 In stating that “the State of Israel considers the development of Jewish settlement to be a national value and will act to further encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation”, the law appears to justify the expansion of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, considered by Israel as part of its territory.23 It remains to be seen whether this provision will be used to further justify illegal settlement expansion in the rest of the West Bank.24 Regularization of outposts 14. Israel has been promoting the retroactive authorization of outposts built without official approval since 2011. So far, 13 outposts have been retroactively approved and 20 are in different stages of the approval process (out of 116 outposts). 25 During the reporting period, steps were taken within the Government to implement the recommendations of the committee that was set up to resolve issues of landownership related to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Created in 2017, the committee submitted its report, which includes recommendations to legalize thousands of unauthorized Israeli structures in the West Bank, including those built on private Palestinian land, in February 2018.26 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 4 Case Nos. HCJ 5470/17 and 8055/17, Basma Haj Mohammad et al. v. Minister of Defence et al., Judgment of 9 October 2018. Hague Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, arts. 46 and 56; Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention), art. 53; and International Committee of the Red Cross, Customary International Humanitarian Law, rule 51. A/HRC/37/43, paras. 10–11. See https://unsco.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/security_council_briefing__20_september_2018_2334.pdf. A/73/410, paras. 9–11. See, e.g., Security Council resolutions 252 (1968), 476 (1980) and 478 (1980). A/HRC/34/38, para. 10. There is no indication of the geographical scope of the quoted provision in the law. Yesh Din and The Rights Forum, Under the Radar: Israel’s Silent Policy of Transforming Unauthorized Outposts into Official Settlements (2015). A/73/410, para. 13.