Israel votes on bill to return annexed lands

Israeli lawmakers are set to discuss a controversial bill on withdrawing from the Arab territories that Tel Aviv has illegally annexed in the past.

The proposed draft says any future peace deals demanding Israel's withdrawal from East Jerusalem Al-Quds and the Syrian Golan Heights must first be approved by a 61-vote majority in the 120-seat parliament (Knesset).

Once the agreement has won parliamentary approval, it must be put to a "referendum" within 80 days.

This is while the Palestinians consider Jerusalem Al-Quds as the capital of their future independent state, urging a complete freeze on Israel's settlement construction activity in there.

Syria has also repeatedly called for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights as a precondition to any peace talks.

The international community has never recognized Israel's annexation of the two Arab territories, both occupied by Israel during the six-day war in 1967.

Israel's parliament is widely expected to welcome the government bill which favors opposition to the regime's withdrawal from the occupied regions, and could smother international efforts aimed at reviving peace in the region.