News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Knesset has passed on first reading a bill initiated by Likud Knesset Member Gideon Sa'ar, whose proposed law would require the approval of 80 MKs for a change in the status of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has proposed surrendering parts of the capital to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which demands the surrender of the entire area of the capital that was restored to Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967.

The vote in favor of the bill was 54-24, but it must be approved by a committee and pass two more Knesset votes before becoming law. A growing number of Prime Minister Olmert's Kadima party is against his program, which has been promoted by his close friend and aide Vice Prime Minister Chaim Ramon.