Israel has committed before the Supreme Court to passing legislation that would end a ban on adoption by same-sex couples by June 2018, Hebrew media outlets reported Sunday.

The long-simmering issue exploded onto the political arena in June when the government responded to a High Court petition by LGBT rights groups saying that the state would not change the discriminatory policy, adding that having gay parents would be “baggage” for the adopted children.

But following backlash and protest from local activist groups, the Israeli Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry reversed its opposition to same-sex adoption.

On Sunday, it told the court that based on expert advice it has decided to support "cancelling the threshold condition of the relationship [of the adopting parents] being specifically between 'man and woman'," a statement read. Read more via i24 news