Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Tuesday that a new law mandating a referendum prior to withdrawal from sovereign Israeli territory would likely be used by Israel's enemies as proof that it is averse to advancing the Middle East peace process.
Barak made his comments a day after the Knesset passed the bill by a vote of 65-33; the law will go into effect immediately.
"It's not a good law, certainly not at this point in time," Barak told regional council leaders in the Negev. "I am just not sure it is needed right now. Israel's enemies are likely to use it to claim that we are against peace and handcuffing ourselves to prevent any progress in the peace process."
"A Palestinian state is in Israel's clear interest," Barak added. "This [law] won't do anybody any good. We must get pass the obstacle of settlement freeze, because is a weak point for Israel that cannot be explained to the world."
"We must move on to the core issues where Israel holds greater weight," the defense minister said.
Because the law only applies to sovereign Israeli territory, no referendum would be needed to withdraw from any part of the West Bank. However, a referendum would be required for a pullout from East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights, as both have been annexed by Israel. It would also be required if, under a future deal with the Palestinians, Israel ceded land within the pre-1967 lines in exchange for keeping the settlement blocs.
The law states that any withdrawal must first be approved by the Knesset. If it passes the Knesset by a two-thirds majority, or 80 MKs, then no referendum will be necessary. Otherwise, the withdrawal must then be ratified by a referendum.
The law addresses various details of how the referendum should be conducted, including how the question should be phrased, when the vote must be held, who is responsible for operating polling stations and how the pre-referendum campaigns for and against the withdrawal should be conducted. But it does not say anything about one very major issue: how the entire process should be funded.
The law was originally sponsored by Likud MKs, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in its favor before the vote. "A referendum will prevent an irresponsible agreement, but at the same time will allow any agreement that satisfies Israel's national interests to pass with strong public backing," he said.
He is convinced, he added, that any agreement he submits to the Knesset will indeed enjoy such backing.
But opposition leader Tzipi Livni said it was a sign of "weak leadership," and her Kadima faction voted overwhelmingly against the law. Only one Kadima MK, Otniel Schneller, voted for it, and three others who had expressed support for the bill in the past - including Livni's chief rival, Shaul Mofaz - skipped the vote.
Labor Party MKs, who are part of the coalition, were allowed to vote according to their conscience, and most of them also voted against the law. But one Labor minister, Shalom Simhon, voted for it, and three others, led by party leader Barak, skipped the vote.
The fact that the law received more than 61 votes, meaning it was passed by an absolute majority of the 120-member Knesset, will make it harder for anyone to petition the High Court of Justice against it, because it will eliminate the argument that the law passed with insufficient support for such fundamental, quasi-constitutional legislation.

But Yariv Oppenheimer, secretary general of Peace Now, said yesterday that his organization will consider petitioning the High Court against it.