51�Թ�

The streets in Jerusalem leading up to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, were a sea of blue and white Israeli flags, and the noise from vast loudspeakers set up along the route was deafening.

Strong criticism of the initiative has come from Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats in the Knesset.

The chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Yuli Edelstein, called it "a shameful decision by a political body held captive by Islamist interests".

Last month, the Knesset passed a bill to ban the Unrwa, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, accusing the organisation of colluding with Hamas.

Some opposition members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, suggested it is targeted only at Palestinian citizens of Israel, sometimes called Israeli Arabs.