BRUSSELS, December 8, 2016 (WAFA) – The European Union (EU) warned Thursday against the adoption of an Israeli bill that would “legalize” settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, passed the bill in first reading on Wednesday. Some Israeli ministers have said the bill could be a step toward annexation of the West Bank.

The bill, known as "Regularization Bill," calls for giving legal status to dozens of settlements and outposts built on private Palestinian land in violation of Israeli and international law. It would also call for confiscating property rights of Palestinians for settler use.

A statement by a spokesperson for the EU external relations said that if the bill passes in second and third readings, it would “be the first law adopted by the Knesset on the status of land in the West Bank, an occupied territory not under its jurisdiction.”

The spokesperson added: “Recalling that settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make the two-state solution impossible, the European Union reiterates its strong opposition, in line with the position of the Middle East Quartet, to Israel‘s settlement policy and all actions taken in this context.”

M.K.