Turkish vice president blasts new Israeli law

Turkey's Vice President Fuat Oktay on Thursday slammed Israel's new "Jewish nation-state" law.

Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter that Israel's parliament, which ignores fundamental rights and freedoms, with the new law has harmed principles of universal law.

"Such legislation is unacceptable for the Turkish Republic. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and will continue to be its capital," Oktay stressed, referring to the section of the law saying that Jerusalem is Israel's capital.

Israel's Knesset on Thursday passed a law which declares the country to be "the nation-state of the Jewish people."

The law was approved 62-55 in a tumultuous Knesset session in which Arab lawmakers slammed what they called "Israeli racism against the Arab minority."

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the law "officially defines Israel as the 'national homeland of the Jewish people'."

It further states that a "united Jerusalem" is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language but recognizing its "special status."

The legislation's most controversial article, however, which would have paved the way for the creation of "Jewish-only" communities in Israel, was removed before the vote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a "defining moment for Zionism and Israel".

"One hundred and twenty-two years after [Zionist leader Theodor] Herzl articulated his vision, we have, with this law, determined the basic principle of our existence," he said.