TEL AVIV // The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday approved controversial legislation that would force any non-Jew seeking Israeli citizenship to pledge allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish state".
The announcement infuriated Israel's Arab citizens, who accused the government of targeting them with the proposal. Israeli Arabs who are married to Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza would be impacted because their potential spouses, many of whom are seeking Israeli citizenship, would balk at taking such an oath.
Left-leaning legislators and members of the only centrist party in Mr Netanyahu's predominantly right-wing ruling coalition also condemned the proposal, warning that it may further deteriorate Israel's image abroad as well as worsen domestic relations between Jews and Palestinians.
Israeli media speculated that Mr Netanyahu made his announcement in a bid to keep US-backed peace talks with the Palestinians alive.
Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, said that the premier backed the legislation in exchange for getting support from Avigdor Lieberman, the ultra-nationalist foreign minister, and other right-wing coalition members for an extension of a settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians have threatened to exit the peace process without an extension.
Such a loyalty oath would be in line with the agenda of Mr Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party, which has long endorsed introducing it for the Palestinian minority that accounts for 20 per cent of Israel's population.
Mr Lieberman, himself a settler, has in recent weeks publicly opposed extending the settlement moratorium.
Haaretz quoted an unidentified government minister from the Labour party, the only centrist member of the coalition, as saying that the legislation may serve as a "payoff to Lieberman so that the premier will be able to extend the freeze without his coalition crumbling". Indeed, most members of the coalition currently oppose prolonging a halt on settlement growth.
A spokesman for Mr Netanyahu declined to comment when asked about a possible connection between the legislation and the settlement freeze.
Yesterday Yisrael Beitenu denied having made a deal with Mr Netanyahu to obtain his support for the oath. Under current Israeli law, Jews who want to immigrate to Israel are automatically granted citizenship while non-Jews are required to pledge loyalty to the "state of Israel".
The amendment would obligate them to pledge loyalty to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state".
Jamal Zahalka, an Arab member of Israel's parliament, said: "The main aim of this law is to hurt Arabs, and it proves that Lieberman has turned into the spiritual leader of the government."
The proposal is due to come up for the government's approval on Sunday and still needs to be passed by parliament before it becomes law.
Mr Netanyahu has also demanded that Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state as part of any peace agreement. The Palestinians have long rejected that, saying Israel may use it as a pretext to deny Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war that created Israel the right to return to their former homes.