Israeli-Palestinian tensions have been high since President Trump's Dec. 6 decision on Jerusalem, and the new year isn't bringing calming overtures. Israel's parliament on Tuesday voted to stipulate that a supermajority—80 of the Knesset's 120 votes—would have to vote in favor of any proposal to give up any part of Jerusalem to "a foreign party" for it to pass. Reuters reports 61 votes were previously required.
Per the Times of Israel, the lawmaker who proposed the bill had previously described its goal as "to prevent concessions as part of diplomatic deals. Jerusalem will never be on the negotiating table. ... Get it into your heads that Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people and will remain the capital of the Jewish people for all eternity." A rep for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sees the law as obliterating the chance of coming to any such table: "The vote clearly shows that the Israeli side has officially declared an end to the so-called political process." The AP notes, however, that the law is "largely symbolic," as a simple majority can reverse it. (More Jerusalem stories.)
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