Israeli lawmakers have voted to advance a bill legalizing some 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

Fifty-seven members of the parliament voted on Wednesday to approve the bill in the first of three readings, while 51 were against it.

The bill was submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Supporters of the bill called it a step towards the eventual annexation of most of the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu told French President Francois Hollande he would not meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas if France pushes ahead with an international peace conference in Paris later this month.

Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the conference proposal.