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Parliament gives first approval to bill barring Jerusalem status changes |
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May 18, 2000
JERUSALEM, MAY 17 (UNB/AP) - Israel's parliament Wednesday gave first approval to two measures that would set limits on government peace negotiators discussing the final status of Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees.
The first measure, presented by right-wing Likud lawmaker Yehoshua Matza, stipulated that parts of Jerusalem can only be relinquished and its boundaries changed with the agreement of at least 61 legislators in the 120-member parliament.
The Palestinians want to establish a capital in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, but Israel says it will not give up control of all of the city.
The Barak government had initially opposed the bill, but changed its position after Matza agreed to reduce the necessary majority for changes in Jerusalem's status from 80 to 61 legislators.
The second bill, also introduced by Likud, bans the return of Palestinian refugees to communities in what is now Israel.
Addressing parliament, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy said peace negotiators have not given their Palestinian counterparts any reason to believe they would compromise on Jerusalem.
The two sides are holding talks in Stockholm, Sweden, on the blueprint of a final peace treaty that would include agreement on the status of Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem bill was approved in a preliminary reading with 68 in favor, among them many legislators from Prime Minister Ehud Barak's coalition, and 21 opposed. Three more readings are required for final passages.
Cabinet minister Haim Ramon, who spoke for the government, declared that recognizing the right of some 3 million refugees to return would "mean the end of the state of Israel" as a Jewish nation. It passed 66 to 21.
He said when the Palestinians bring up the right of refugees to return to their homes, Israeli negotiators "reject it totally." He said "not a single refugee will return to Israel," except in a few cases of family reunification.
Ramon said the refugees should be resettled in Arab countries or "in the Palestinian state, if it is set up."
In the past, Israel has suggested that some refugees could settle in the emerging Palestinian state. Speaking on Israel Radio, Barak said the legislation is "a gimmick that has no importance."
The Jerusalem legislation reduces the maneuvering room of the Israeli negotiators.
Under one compromise proposal floated in recent years, the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem would be expanded to include Arab villages now part of the West Bank. The Palestinians would then establish their capital in one of the villages, most likely Abu Dis, but be able to say that it is part of Jerusalem.
Israeli media reports have also said that Israel was considering granting the Palestinians municipal autonomy in east Jerusalem.
Matza said the bill was aimed at helping Barak, who is to meet with President Clinton in Washington next week to review progress in the peace talks. Clinton has said that at some stage, he would present compromise proposals to the negotiators.
"If you leave (for Washington) with a Knesset decision that says there will be no compromise over Jerusalem, such a decision will only strengthen you, Mr. Prime Minister," Matza said.
Ramon said there was a broad Israeli consensus on not relinquishing any part of Jerusalem, and that a law has already been legislated requiring a 61-vote majority for giving up any areas under Israeli rule. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, an adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, denounced the Jerusalem measure as "a stumbling block" on the path to peace. He warned that Palestinians might conclude that violence is their only option because of "Israel's stalling."
Naomi Hazan from the dovish Meretz party said the measures showed that opponents of compromise for peace "will try anything, however absurd, to sabotage the process." Most members of Meretz, partners in Barak's coalition, voted against both bills.
Though the bills would have to survive three more votes and committee debates to become law, the votes created an uncompromising atmosphere just as peace talks appeared off to a fresh start.
While the parliament debated the issues, there were minor clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli soldiers, but the protests were far smaller than the riots Monday that deteriorated into exchanges of gunfire, killing three Palestinians.
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