Netanyahu in high stakes gamble with new settlement bill

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the opening of the summer session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's support for a bill that would legalise Israeli settlement homes on private Palestinian land in the West Bank is seen in Israel as another feint in a power struggle within his ruling right-wing coalition.

But critics in Israel and abroad fear that Netanyahu's machinations aimed at appeasing political partners could have grave consequences internationally, even if the law does not survive likely court challenges.