& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Israel adopts divisive law

EU expresses concern as Arab MPs, Palestinians call the move 'racist'

REUTERS, Jerusalem
**JEWISH NATION STATE
Netanyahu says law is the will of an 'absolute majority'
Law plants seeds of 'apartheid state': critic Palestinian killed in Israeli strike in Gaza**
Israel yesterday passed a "nation-state" law declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, stirring anger from members of the Arab minority who said it was racist and drawing an expression of concern from the EU.
The bill, backed by the right-wing government, passed through parliament after months of political argument and some Arab lawmakers shouted and ripped up theirpapers afterthe vote.
"This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset.
"An absolute majority wants to ensure our state's Jewish character for generations to come," he said.
Largely symbolic, the law was enacted just after the 70th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. It stipulates "Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it".
Palestinian leaders condemned the move. “No racist law will undermine
the rights of our people. We are proud of being a strong nation deeply rooted in our homeland," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement.
In Brussels, a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini expressed concern at the move and said it would complicate a
two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The bill also removes Arabic as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a "special status" that enables its continued use in Israeli institutions.
Israel's Arab citizens number some
1.8 million, about 20 percent of the 9 million population.
"I announce with shock and sorrow the death of democracy," Ahmed Tibi, an Arab lawmaker, told reporters after the law was adopted.
Early drafts had gone further in what critics at home and abroad saw as discrimination towards Arabs, who have long said they are treated in Israel as second-class citizens.
Clauses that were dropped after political wrangling would have enshrined in law establishment of Jewish-only communities.
Even after the changes, critics said the new law will deepen a sense of alienation within the Arab minority.
"This is racist legislation by a radical right-wing government that is creating radical laws, and is planting the seeds to create an apartheid state," said physician Bassam Bisharah.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the enclave's health ministry said, after Israel said one of its aircraft targeted a group launching balloons carrying firebombs.