JERUSALEM: An Israeli parliamentary committee voted Wednesday in favor of a bill requiring a referendum prior to any possible withdrawal from east Jerusalem or the Golan Heights, a committee spokesman said.
"The draft law on the referendum was approved Wednesday by five votes against two," he told AFP.
The bill had passed a first reading in parliament in 2008 and now has committee approval to go for the two more readings needed before it can become law.
It aims to make it more difficult for the government to cede territory, saying that a public referendum or a special majority of two thirds of MPs, would be necessary before withdrawal from land under Israeli sovereignty.
This refers to east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, both of which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in moves not recognized by the international community.
Syria has demanded the complete return of the Golan Heights as a condition for peace with Israel, while the Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.
