Israeli Jerusalem law angers Palestinians

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On Tuesday, Israel's parliament gave final approval to legislation aimed at making it more difficult for the government to hand the Palestinians parts of Jerusalem under any future peace deal.

The bill, approved by a 64 to 51 vote, is the latest blow to the remaining hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, described Trump's policy shift on Jerusalem and the passage of the amendment as "a declaration of war against the Palestinian people."

Formulated by Shuli Moalem-Refaeli of the far-right Jewish Home party, the new law comes weeks after Trump's decision on Jerusalem sparked deadly protests in the Palestinian territories.

It also follows a vote earlier this week by the central committee of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party in favor of extending Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the occupied West Bank.

A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones towards Israeli troops during clashes at a protest against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, near the border with Israel in the east of Gaza city, Dec. 15, 2017. /Reuters Photo‍

The Likud vote was non-binding, but was a further expression of the hopes of many right-wing Israelis who oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.

The law approved on Tuesday determines that any ceding of lands considered by Israel to be part of Jerusalem would necessitate a two-thirds majority vote in parliament – 80 out of 120 members of the Knesset.

It also enables changing the municipal definition of Jerusalem, which means that sectors of the city "could be declared separate entities," a statement from parliament read.

However, the new law is not necessarily definitive. It can be changed by a regular parliamentary majority of 61.

Trump's Dec. 6 decision upended decades of precedent and broke with international consensus, but maintains that Jerusalem's final status would have to be decided in negotiations between the two sides.

CGTN’s Stephanie Freid reports from Tel Aviv that this move has led to deep anger among Palestinians.

Abbas said on Monday that the United States could no longer play any role in the Middle East peace process.

A Palestinian man with a knife in his hand falls after being shot by Israeli border policemen near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Dec. 15, 2017. /Reuters Photo

He said the White House "has refused to condemn Israeli colonial settlements as well as the systematic attacks and crimes of the Israeli occupation against the people of Palestine."

Speaking of the Likud vote, he said "we hope that this vote serves as a reminder for the international community that the Israeli government, with the full support of the US administration, is not interested in a just and lasting peace."

(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)