Two Knesset committees held a joint session on Thursday, and will hold another one on Sunday, to plan how to hold a referendum on the Golan. If negotiations with Syria ever advance sufficiently, the question that will be asked is whether or not to cede the Golan Heights to Syria.
Members of the Law and House Knesset Committees discussed the costs of the plebiscite, as well as its date and other aspects.
No Giveaway Without National Referendum
In 1999, 18 years after the Golan Heights area was annexed to Israel, the Knesset voted that no part of the Golan or Jerusalem may be transferred to a foreign power without both an absolute majority of 61 Knesset Members and a popular referendum.
If 80 MKs vote in favor of giving away the Golan, no referendum is required. The law also states that a referendum is required only if the Knesset has passed a Constitution-like Basic Law governing the rules of a referendum.
However, a bill is currently in legislation cancelling this latter qualification. This is because, as the bill's sponsor, ex-MK Avigdor Yitzchaki, said, "There is no chance that such a Basic Law will ever be passed." He told Arutz-7 that he believes his bill - which requires a referendum on the transfer of Israeli sovereign territory even without a Basic Law on the matter - will be passed in the Knesset in the coming session.
Yitzchaki further said that though his bill included all sovereign areas of Jerusalem, it will likely be changed to include only the Golan, in order to ensure broad support for its passage.
Giant Rally Put End to Talk of Golan Giveaway
Talk of ceding the Golan to Syria, which heated up in the mid-to-late 1990s, died down when it became clear that the public was strongly against it. More than 400,000 people took part in a Tel Aviv rally in 2000 which declared, "The Nation is With the Golan."
Syria Freezes Talks
The Olmert government, however, recently initiated, for the first time, negotiations with Syria. It was announced today (Thursday) that Syrian President Bashar Assad had frozen further talks with Israel.
The MKs of the Law and House Committees determined that a referendum will involve 10,000 polling stations manned by 100,000 workers. Electronic advertising on the matter, unlike national elections in Israel, will not be regulated. If national elections are held around the same time as the Golan issue comes to the fore, the two votes will be held on the same day.
A national vacation day will be declared on the day of the referendum, which will cost the economy an estimated 1.4 billion shekels.
Members of the Law and House Knesset Committees discussed the costs of the plebiscite, as well as its date and other aspects.
No Giveaway Without National Referendum
In 1999, 18 years after the Golan Heights area was annexed to Israel, the Knesset voted that no part of the Golan or Jerusalem may be transferred to a foreign power without both an absolute majority of 61 Knesset Members and a popular referendum.
If 80 MKs vote in favor of giving away the Golan, no referendum is required. The law also states that a referendum is required only if the Knesset has passed a Constitution-like Basic Law governing the rules of a referendum.
However, a bill is currently in legislation cancelling this latter qualification. This is because, as the bill's sponsor, ex-MK Avigdor Yitzchaki, said, "There is no chance that such a Basic Law will ever be passed." He told Arutz-7 that he believes his bill - which requires a referendum on the transfer of Israeli sovereign territory even without a Basic Law on the matter - will be passed in the Knesset in the coming session.
Yitzchaki further said that though his bill included all sovereign areas of Jerusalem, it will likely be changed to include only the Golan, in order to ensure broad support for its passage.
Giant Rally Put End to Talk of Golan Giveaway
Talk of ceding the Golan to Syria, which heated up in the mid-to-late 1990s, died down when it became clear that the public was strongly against it. More than 400,000 people took part in a Tel Aviv rally in 2000 which declared, "The Nation is With the Golan."
Syria Freezes Talks
The Olmert government, however, recently initiated, for the first time, negotiations with Syria. It was announced today (Thursday) that Syrian President Bashar Assad had frozen further talks with Israel.
The MKs of the Law and House Committees determined that a referendum will involve 10,000 polling stations manned by 100,000 workers. Electronic advertising on the matter, unlike national elections in Israel, will not be regulated. If national elections are held around the same time as the Golan issue comes to the fore, the two votes will be held on the same day.
A national vacation day will be declared on the day of the referendum, which will cost the economy an estimated 1.4 billion shekels.