Israeli panel advances bill banning Jerusalem division

An Israeli ministerial panel has advanced a proposed law blocking negotiations on any partition of Jerusalem, local media reported Sunday.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the bill, allowing it to go to a vote in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

The proposal would amend Israel's Basic Law, requiring a three-quarter majority vote in the Knesset to hand any part of Jerusalem over to the Palestinians.

Palestinians insist that any state established as part of a two-state solution should include East Jerusalem as its capital but Israel claims Jerusalem as its "undivided, eternal capital" and hardliners object to the city being partitioned.

The law has been proposed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the hardline right-wing Jewish Home party.