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Israel passes new law on Jerusalem
Context
Israel’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday requiring a supermajority to relinquish control over any part of Jerusalem, a move that could hamstring the city’s division in any future peace deal.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the legislation “tantamount to declaring war on the Palestinian people.”
The amendment bars the government from ceding Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem without approval of at least 80 of the legislature’s 120 members.
Only symbolic
But the law itself can be overturned with a simple majority, making it largely symbolic.
Can remove Palestinian neighborhoods
- The law also permits the government to remove outlying Palestinian neighborhoods from the city, a move promoted by hard-liners to preserve Jerusalem’s Jewish majority
- They would be turned into separate municipalities under Israeli control.
The Knesset
The Knesset (The Knesset is the unicameral national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government) approved the legislation in a 64-52 vote, with opposition politicians saying it would make it even harder to make peace with the Palestinians
The Old Issue
- Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital
- The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally, to be the capital of their future state
Trump’s declaration
Tensions rose after President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital last month, breaking with decades of U.S. policy and an international consensus that the city’s status should be decided in peace negotiations.
Decision indicative of the underlying opinion
- The steering body’s decision was symbolic, but indicative of the prevailing opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, which is opposed to the internationally-backed concept of a two-state solution
- The Palestinians condemned that decision and accused Mr. Trump of emboldening the Likud party.
