News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Knesset is to vote Wednesday on a bill that would require a referendum to cede the Golan Heights to a foreign entity. The Kadima party stated they were upset that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak did not heed their call to postpone the bill.

Kadima says that the current tension with Syria and Lebanon makes it a bad time for the vote. "Stop playing with fire at the expense of the State of Israel," said Kadima in a statement.

As many as 68 Knesset members have voiced support for the referendum.

Syria controlled the Golan Heights from 1948 to 1967 and has often stated they want it back. Israel liberated the mountainous area in the Six Day War to stop Syrian rocket attacks against northern Israeli towns.