Likud ministers reject Regev's Jerusalem bill

Bill proposal required a Knesset majority to authorize negotiations on Jerusalem, status of Palestinian refugees.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Israeli flag with Temple Mount background 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli flag with Temple Mount background 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday voted down a bill requiring a majority of the Knesset to authorize negotiations on Jerusalem and the status of Palestinian refugees.
Likud ministers on the committee chose not to adopt Likud Beytenu MK Miri Regev’s proposal, requiring at least 61 MKs to pre-approve any negotiations on Jerusalem or the status of Palestinian refugees, though last month they voted in favor of a similar bill regarding negotiations over the Jordan Valley.
“It’s unfortunate that Likud ministers forget that bills like this are what brought us to the Knesset,” Regev wrote on Facebook. “This important bill deals with two significant core issues and should have passed. Unfortunately, it was rejected and that is a great shame.”
Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel and Pensioners’ Affairs Minister Uri Orbach, both of the Bayit Yehudi, were the only ones to vote in favor of the initiative.
According to the bill, any talks on matters that take place without the Knesset’s authorization will not obligate the government.
Regev’s measure is one in a series of recent legislation from the Right and Left that seek to tie Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s hands when it comes to diplomatic moves.
MK Ya’acov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) drafted an initiative similar to Regev’s, meant to prevent the government from negotiating on Jerusalem without twothirds of the Knesset’s approval.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation authorized it, but Livni and Yesh Atid ministers appealed the vote. Litzman nevertheless brought the bill to the plenum in December and it was voted down, with Likud Beytenu and Bayit Yehudi absenting themselves.