An Israeli law which retroactively legalises 4,000 Jewish settler homes could make it easier to prosecute Israeli politicians, military personnel and civilians, NGOs have warned.

In a 63-page petition delivered to Israel's High Court, the NGOs said the law could be considered criminal under international law and argued it constituted an annexation of parts of the West Bank.

The law, passed by the Knesset in early February, retroactively recognised more than 4,000 "wildcat" settlement homes built on private Palestinian property in the West Bank.

“The petition stresses that the implementation of the provisions of the law may serve to incriminate Israeli citizens and security personnel who would implement it, as well as the MKs who voted in support of the law, as their actions may be considered war crimes according to international criminal law,” the petition said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Barack Obama uses final interview as President to slam Israeli policy on settlements

It said the Knesset acted outside its jurisdiction by approving the law, because it has no authority over the West Bank, which is beyond Israel's sovereign border.

The law marks the first time Israel has applied its own civil law to land it recognises as Palestinian-owned in the West Bank.

“To date, and for nearly 50 years, Knesset legislation in relation to the West Bank was limited to individual legal rights – applying only to Israeli citizens who live in the West Bank – while legislators refrained from directly administrating the area itself,” the petition added.

“Legislating this law is a clear act of sovereignty, and thus constitutes unlawful annexation.”

The NGOs said the law violates both Israeli law and regulations at the heart of international law, including the Fourth Geneva convention of 1949, the Hague Regulations of 1907 and laws dating back to the American Civil War.

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Youths attend the funeral of Ahmad Sharake who was shot during clashes with Israeli forces in Jelazun refugee camp, near Ramallah, West Bank. Tensions in the area continue to run high following a series of stabbing attacks that have occurred around Israel in clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces Getty Images The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

During a heated debate on the bill in February, cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said: “We are voting tonight on our right to the land.

“We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it.”

The legislation stipulates the original Palestinian landowners should be given either generous financial compensation or land elsewhere, whether or not they agree to such a deal.

Legislating a law depriving people of their property, through a process in which they are not represented, is the "textbook definition of tyranny," the petition added.

Loading....

When the law was approved, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, said: “This is an aggression against our people that we will be opposing in international organisations."

He added: “What we want is peace... but what Israel does is to work towards one state based on apartheid.”

Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, reportedly told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would not defend the legislation against the expected legal challenges because he believes it violates both Israeli and international law.