World Bulletin / News Desk

Palestinians and rights activists have reacted with anger to the passing of a controversial “breach of loyalty” bill in the Israeli Knesset which will allow the authorities to strip Arabs living in Jerusalem of their right to live there. 

Here are some reactions over Israel's new law:

Turkey

Turkey slammed new Jewish nation-state law passed by Israel's Knesset, saying it "disregards" norms of universal law. 

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said: “The Jewish nation-state law passed by the Israeli parliament today disregards norms of universal law and ignores the rights of Palestinians.”

“It is certainly not possible to accept this racist step that shows its effort to legally erase the Palestinian people from their homeland,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

Fuat Oktay, Turkey's Vice President wrote on Twitter that Israel’s parliament, which ignores fundamental rights and freedoms, with the new law has harmed principles of universal law.

"Such legislation is unacceptable for the Turkish Republic. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and will continue to be its capital," Oktay stressed, referring to the section of the law saying that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.

Arab League

The Arab League condemned the Israeli parliament passing a law defining the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

"All the bills Israel is trying to forcibly enforce are null and will not give any legitimacy to the Israeli occupation," the AL said in a statement.

The approval of the controversial bill is another bid to cement the occupation of Palestinian territories and wriggle out from recognizing Palestinian rights, the statement added.

Jordan

Jordan condemned Israel for passing the controversial "Jewish state" law, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jumana Ghunaimat, Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications, said the new legislation fuels the racial discriminations in Israel and is in stark violation with the international laws and conventions.

She added that the new law undermines the peacemaking opportunities and will lead to more violence and tension in the region.

EU

The European Union has led a chorus of criticism after Israel passed a controversial law declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country.

“We’ve been very clear when it comes to the two-state solution, we believe it is the only way forward and any step that would further complicate or prevent this solution of becoming a reality should be avoided,” EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

Palestine

Arab lawmakers and Palestinians called the law "racist" and said it legalized "apartheid" following a tumultuous debate in parliament.

Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pledged "zero tolerance" for anti-Semitism on Thursday during a controversial visit to Israel after facing accusations of stoking anti-Jewish sentiment back home.