Israel annexed east Jerusalem with its holy places in 1967

Israel's parliament has given initial approval to draft legislation making it harder to change Jerusalem's status in any peace deal with the Palestinians.

The proposed bill would require a two-thirds majority in the Knesset for any amendments to a law claiming all of the city as Israeli territory.

The new legislation still has to pass three more votes in parliament before it can become law.

Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem in 1967 has not been recognised abroad.

The author of the bill, Likud party member Gideon Saar, said the vote in the Knesset was a clear sign to the international community that there was consensus in Israel against concessions on Jerusalem.

The pre-emption comes ahead of new efforts to rekindle the peace process with the Palestinians in which the status of Jerusalem, also claimed by Palestinians as their capital, will be a major issue.

Settlers

Separately, Israeli media reported that the government plans to announce a freeze on settlement construction before the proposed US-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, this month.

Haaretz reported that a group of senior Israeli officials flew to Washington on Tuesday to discuss the components of this freeze with Bush administration officials.

The West Bank and East Jerusalem were among the territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war.