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Jerusalem(CNN) The Israeli government has dropped some of the most controversial rules in a draft ordinance controlling how foreigners can enter and stay in the occupied West Bank.
A draft of the rules was published in February and received harsh public backlash as well as legal challenges which forced a delay to their implementation.
One of the most controversial rules would have required foreign passport holders entering a formal relationship with a Palestinian living in the West Bank to notify Israeli authorities within 30 days of their engagement, wedding, or moving-in together. Another regulation in the draft placed quotas on the number foreign academics -- lecturers and students -- permitted each year.
But those regulations have been removed from the official guidance published on Sunday. The rules are currently set to take effect on October 20.
Israel says the new ordinance is meant to codify norms already in place.
The document also states that the new regulations will be part of a "two-year pilot period" after which "the situation will be evaluated and a decision will be made regarding whether to keep the procedure in force."
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak more freely, told CNN the reason Israel wanted foreigners to declare romantic relations with West Bank Palestinians was to simplify visitors' visa process. The official said as an example, a student with a foreign passport who fell in love with a Palestinian could -- instead of needing to renew their student visa every year -- just register as a couple and receive the equivalent of a spousal visa.
But Palestinians and human rights groups said the rules were a further tamping down on the basic rights of Palestinians in the West Bank -- while such rules would not have applied to Israeli settlements in the West Bank that are governed by Israeli civilian law.
Much of the international community, including the United States, considers the West Bank to be occupied territory since Israel took control of the area following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel controls all movement in and out of the territory.
The draft guidelines published in February were challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court by human rights groups and individuals.
In a statement, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said the Embassy had been "aggressively engaged" with the Israeli government since the draft rules were published in February.
"I continue to have concerns with the published protocols, particularly regarding COGAT's role in determining whether individuals invited by Palestinian academic institutions are qualified to enter the West Bank, and the potential negative impact on family unity," Nides said. "It is important to ensure all of these regulations are developed in coordination with key stakeholders, including the Palestinian Authority.
COGAT is the Israeli agency which administers Israeli policy in the West Bank.
Nides is married to CNN executive Virginia Moseley, who is senior vice president of domestic newsgathering.
In a statement HaMoked, an Israeli-Palestinian legal aid organization that challenged the ruling in Israel's Supreme Court, said the Israeli government "has removed some of the most outrageous elements" of the draft rules but that the basic problem remains: it is extremely difficult for foreign spouses of Palestinians to gain legal West Bank residency.
"[The] Israeli military takes the prerogative of micromanaging Palestinian society - including interfering with academic freedom of Palestinian universities. This procedure violates Israel's international legal obligations and HaMoked will continue its legal challenge of it," said HaMoked Executive Director Jessica Montell.
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Abandoned for years on Istanbul's Asian shore, the city's famed "haunted mansion" was finally sold on Friday to Turkish lender İşbank for 449.3 million Turkish Liras ($24.7 million).
The 116-year-old historic structure stands tall and majestic in the city's affluent neighborhood of Kadikoy. It was built in 1906 by the Prussian architect August Carl Friedrich Jasmund, according to Turkish state media, and was named 'Ragip Pasha' after the aide-de-camp to Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II.
Ragip Pasha lived in the mansion until his death in 1920, and the property has since exchanged hands several times.
The three-story building has a closed area of 2,700 square meters and sprawls over a large garden space. In desperate need of renovation, its 20th-century architecture and spectacular seaside view have made it an integral historical landmark for the Kadikoy neighborhood.
The abandoned building's rough facade and dilapidated facilities have led locals to refer to it as 'haunted'.
The property was sold at a public tender, where the court had initially placed the building's price at 449.4 million liras.
İşbank bought the mansion at just 8 liras over the court's price, according to Turkish media.
By Nadeen Ebrahim