Guido has always been a staunch defender of Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s right to security and Israel’s military stance in a hostile region. The only democracy in a region of dictatorships, an ally in the war on terror and part of the Judaeo-Christian heritage that underpins Western values. In difficult times we have stood by Israel.

The new land grab law brought forward by Likud’s coalition partners is indefensible. The law allows the state to expropriate privately-owned Palestinian land in the West Bank / Judea and Samaria where Israeli settlements or outposts have been built. The law will allow for the retroactive legalisation of land in more than 50 outposts and settlements so far. It allows Jewish settlers to remain in their homes, even though it does not grant them ownership of the land they live on. It denies the Palestinian owners the right to claim the land or take possession of it “until there is a diplomatic resolution of the status of the territories.”

This is the state legitimising theft. Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has, rightly, indicated that if the law is challenged in the courts, he won’t defend it. Nor should any of Israel’s friends.