A new law passed by the Israeli Knesset purposely puts insurmountable hurdles on the path to peace In a move primarily aimed at making it harder to cede occupied Arab land as part of any peace agreement with Syria or the Palestinians, the Israeli Knesset this week approved a bill requiring a two-thirds Knesset majority, as well as a general referendum, for any prospective withdrawal from the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, writes Khaled Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem. The bill, initiated by Likud Knesset member Yarive Levin, passed by 65 to 33, reflecting a clear right-wing leaning in the current Israeli legislature. The bill, which effectively puts Israel above international law and will go into effect immediately, is the latest provocative measure adopted by a government widely considered the most hawkish in Israel's history. A few weeks ago, the Israeli government approved a separate controversial law obliging non-Jews aspiring to obtain Israeli citizenship to pledge loyalty to Israel as a "Jewish state". The law is widely viewed as another attempt by Israel to cancel the right of return for Palestinian refugees violently uprooted from their ancestral homeland in 1948 by Zionist settlers who declared the state of Israel. The law is also thought to target Israel's Arab minority, which constitutes nearly one fourth of Israel's total population. The new so-called "referendum law" directly challenges numerous UN resolutions that deem both the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem as occupied territories. It also flies in the face of all peace efforts to date, including US-led efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). PA leader Mahmoud Abbas described the new law as another impediment to peace. "This law is aimed at placing obstacles in the road of peace," said Abbas in Ramallah where he inaugurated a new Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) headquarters. PLO negotiator Saeb Ereikat said it was inconceivable to condition ending the occupation on a referendum of the public of the occupying power. Ereikat said: "With the passage of this bill, the Israeli leadership, yet again, is making a mockery of international law, which is not subject to the whims of Israeli public opinion. Under international law, there is a clear and absolute obligation on Israel to withdraw not only from East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, but also from all the territories that it has occupied since 1967. Ending the occupation of our land is not and cannot be dependent on any sort of referendum." Further, Ereikat described the new law as a cynical attempt to cast Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people as an exercise of Israeli democracy. "Ending the occupation and freeing the Palestinian people would be the purest expression of democratic values. The international community's answer to this bill should be worldwide recognition of the Palestinian state on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital." Syria has also condemned the Knesset's decision. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallim castigated the new law, calling it a mockery. "This obviously contravenes international law. The international community considers East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights to be occupied territories," Al-Muallim was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak opposed the new law, calling it "detrimental and unnecessary". "It is not a good law, certainly not at this point of time. I am just not sure it is needed right now. Israel's enemies are likely to use it to claim that we are against peace and handcuffing ourselves to prevent any progress in the peace process." Barak's Labour Party is a junior coalition partner in the Netanyahu government. However, the party is unlikely to have significant political influence on the decision-making process in light of its dwindling weight and influence in the Israeli political arena and in Jewish society as a whole. Predictably, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke in favour of the law, saying that "a referendum would prevent an irresponsible agreement, but at the same time will allow any agreement that satisfies Israel's national interests to pass with strong public backing." The US State Department has been shy to comment. "This is an internal Israeli issue, and the Israeli government is in the best position to address inquiries related to its process," a spokesperson said. Officially, the US doesn't recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. However, US officials have consistently refrained from criticising Israeli settlement building in both locations.
