国际英语新闻：Israeli politicians spar over new pullout referendum law

JERUSALEM, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A heated debate preceded and followed the passage of a historic law in the Israeli parliament which mandates an obligatory national referendum before any withdrawal from annexed lands.

The National Referendum Law, which passed by a vote of 65-33, has gone into immediate effect following a late night session on Monday.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday criticized the law, saying that it could harm Israel's image. "The law chains the hands of the government. I don't think it is urgent or pressing and might serve our opponents," local daily The Jerusalem Post quoted Barak as saying.

Initiated by Knesset House Committee Chairman Yariv Levin of the Likud Party, the law applies to the territories annexed by Israel in the aftermath of the 1967 war, namely East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, regarded by the international community as occupied territories. It does not, however, apply to the West Bank.

Regarded by some political analysts as a revolution in Israel's parliamentary system of government, the law grants the Israeli public the power to veto territorial concessions negotiated in future peace agreements with the Palestinians and Syria.

A referendum would not be a requirement if a decision to withdraw wins a two-thirds majority, or 80 legislators, in parliament. Anything less would require bringing the decision, within 180 days, to ratification by the people.

Prior to the vote, legislator Levin, who drafted the bill and pushed it through, told the Knesset plenum that the law "reflects the need to ensure that fateful, irreversible decisions, will not be made via dubious wheeling and dealing as has happened in the past."

The legislator may have implied to the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin who, prior to his assassination at a Tel Aviv peace rally, was prepared to concede land in the West Bank to the Palestinians during the Oslo peace process in the early 1990s.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had only recently decided to lend his support to the new law. Political sources estimated the premier was seeking to exploit it to appease the right flank of his coalition in light of a possible renewal of the freeze on West Bank settlement construction.

"A referendum will prevent an irresponsible agreement, but at the same time will allow any agreement that satisfies Israel's national interests to pass with strong public backing," Netanyahu said prior to the vote.

Despite having received a majority in the 120-member parliament, the law's passage was slammed by numerous legislators.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the Kadima party said it attested to "weak leadership."

"These [land concessions] are decisions that a leadership has to make. The public is not a substitute for a need for such leadership , every such decision is tied to considerations, not all of which that can be revealed to the public," Livni said.

She ordered faction members to vote against the law. One Kadima legislator, Otniel Schneller, defied faction discipline and voted in favor, while three others skipped the vote.

The vote was preceded by a last-minute drama when legislators from the Labor Party, Netanyahu's main coalition partner, were allowed the freedom to vote according to their conscience in defiance of coalition discipline.

One Labor minister had eventually voted in favor of the law. Three others, including party leader and Defense Minister Barak, skipped the vote.

Arab parliamentarians were among the critics of the new law, saying the Israeli public has no business in deciding the fate of conquered Palestinian land.

Jamal Zahalka of the Balad Party said the Israeli parliament has no right to decide the future of Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. "This is not an internal Israeli affair," Palestinian news agency Ma'an quoted Zahalka as saying.