Israeli MPs tighten legal restrictions on returning occupied al-Quds

In this October 31, 2016 photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), shakes hands with a senior lawmaker during a session at the Knesset, parliament, in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds. (By AP)

The Israeli parliament, Knesset, has passed the first of three votes required to enact legislation which would further tighten legal restrictions for any future vote on returning parts of occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds to Palestinians.

The voting took place on Wednesday as part of the proposed amendment to the so-called Jerusalem Basic Law – which defines the occupied city’s legal status – and it could pass into law by the end of 2017.

The legislation stipulates that any proposal to cede parts of the city to “a foreign party” requires the approval of at least 80 of the Knesset’s 120 lawmakers.

Fifty-one legislators from the right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin, which holds 67 seats, voted in favor of the amendment, while 41 lawmakers opposed it.

The two additional voting sessions are expected to be held after the parliament returns from its summer recess in October.

The status of Jerusalem al-Quds is considered as a key stumbling blocks in the so-called peace talks between Israel and Palestine which have been frozen since 2014.

Israel declared East Jerusalem al-Quds as its “eternal and indivisible capital” following the occupation of the Palestinian territories in the 1967 Middle East war.

Much of the international community, however, does not recognize Israel’s definition of al-Quds status and considers the city as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.

The Knesset’s vote came amid deadly protests across the Palestinian occupied territories, after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors, turnstiles and additional security cameras outside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Israeli police officers stand outside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on July 25, 2017. (Photo by AP)

Palestinian worshipers strongly condemned Israel’s new restrictive measures at al-Aqsa Mosque, engaging in bitter clashes with Israeli military forces. They have also been holding prayers outside the site in a show of protest.

Following days of rallies, Israel began to remove the restrictions on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, uninstalling the railings and an overhead metal bridge there.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri on Thursday said all the restrictive devices at the site had been removed.

“Everything that was installed after the (July 14) attack was taken down overnight,” she said.

Muslim leaders have said they would decide later in the day whether worshipers could return to the shrine for prayers.

The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population. Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in tensions since the beginning of October 2015.