The law is actually not just about ceding land, but about approving a treaty that involves ceding land.
My summation of the law is as follows:
Any treaty involving the ceding/transfer of land away from the sovereignty of the state of Israel, (JS: including for instance the Golan which was annexed) to a foreign party would require a Knesset vote, with 80 votes ‘for’ the transfer.
If there is a majority of only between 61-79 vote ‘for’ the treaty which includes ceding any land (JS: and this part isn’t clear to me because of their choice of words, but presumably this would even include Tel Aviv, or other land swaps), then the vote would go to a referendum, where the public would decide.
The law, as I understand it right now, has its pros and cons.
There is a law on the books (law #97, thanks Jameel for looking it up) forbidding the transfer of any land under Israeli sovereignty to any foreign power. Any attempt to do would be considered an act of treason and the penalty is death or life in prison.
מי שעשה, בכוונה ששטח כלשהו יצא מריבונותה של המדינה או ייכנס לריבונותה של מדינת חוץ, מעשה שיש בו כדי להביא לכך, דינו - מיתה או מאסר עולם
Of course, this law is completely ignored, so it didn’t really matter if it is on the books.
During Oslo, Yitzchak Rabin openly bought the votes of 2 politicians to pass Oslo in the Knesset just to get a 61 majority, and we’ve been paying for that perfidy every since.
Ariel Sharon ran ram shod over every democratic institution to destroy Gush Katif (firing cabinet ministers who opposed him, blackmailing Bibi with the threat to destroy the economy if Bibi didn’t vote ‘for’, ignoring the internal vote in the Likud, etc.), and he too wouldn’t have otherwise had a 61 majority.
So in retrospect, a law like this would have at least added another layer of protection from politicians like these, especially when, in terms of Gush Katif, there was a huge public majority against Sharon and against the Expulsion, and when the majority of citizens didn't want Oslo once people started dying in the streets and restaurants.
On the downside, it legalizes the very concept that any land in Israel is negotiable and can be given away; a fundamentally bad idea in of itself.
Furthermore, this law can also be overturned at any time with a vote of 61.
There are other pros and cons, but these are my first thought on the subject. Perhaps I’ll address more in the future.
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