Hezbollah has condemned the Israeli parliament’s approval of a bill which provides for privatizing the Palestinian land occupied during the 1948 war.

"Today, the Israeli Knesset passed the ‘law on privatization of territories’ which confirms the criminal act relevant to confiscating lands and properties owned by 1948 Palestinian refugees", the Lebanese group said a statement published on Friday.

The statement highlighted Hezbollah’s "firm condemnation of the US-backed crime", and sharply criticized the international community, the United Nations and the European Union for failing to safeguard Palestinian rights.

Israel’s parliament, known as Knesset, endorsed the major land reform bill which will immediately affect almost 100,000 acres (400 sq km), followed by an additional 100,000 acres after five years.

Human rights groups have denounced the bill for violating the property rights of Palestinian refugees and Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank.

In the 1948 war, around 800,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes by the Israeli army, which took control of up to 4.1 million acres (16,500 sq km) of confiscated and abandoned land.

Hezbollah’s Friday statement blamed the Israeli atrocities in Palestine on the negligence and inactivity of Arab state leaders, calling on them to save the remains of their ‘damaged reputation and credibility’ by assuming their humanitarian and legal role.

Lebanon alone is home to more than 350,000 of refugees from the 1948 war who are denied the right to return to their homes in Palestine.

(Press TV)