Israel approves controversial Jewish nation state bill

Israel's parliament has passed into law a controversial bill that defines the country as an exclusively Jewish state.
The "Jewish nation-state" bill downgrades Arabic as an official language and says advancing Jewish settlement is a national interest. It also states that the "whole and united" Jerusalem is its capital. Israeli Arab MPs condemned the legislation but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised it as a "defining moment".

The bill, backed by the country's right-wing government, says "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it". It was passed after a stormy session in the Knesset that lasted more than eight hours. Sixty-two MPs voted for the bill, with 55 against.

However, some clauses were dropped following objections by Israel's president and attorney-general, including a clause that would have enshrined in law the creation of Jewish-only communities. Israeli Arabs make up about 20% of Israel's population of about nine million people.