Eight ministers on the Committee for Legislation voted in favor of the bill, while three opposed it.

The proposed legislation would let Israel to make settlements in the Jordan Valley and the roads leading to them. No restrictions will apply to construction in the area, unless officially approved by the Knesset – Israel’s parliament.

The Jordan Valley is a matter of considerable contention right now, with Israel pushing for full military control over the border.

The annexation aims at not allowing an independent Palestine to have any borders with anyone but the territories occupied by the Israeli regime.

As a more practical matter, it would almost certainly kill the peace talks outright if it became law by seizing yet more Palestinian land and making the potential state even smaller.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also condemned the bill, telling Ma’an news agency that it shows Israel’s "indifference" to international law and undermines efforts for peace.

Resolving the dispute over the Jordan Valley - a territory which Israel captured in the 1967 war and Palestinians seek as part of their future state - is "a critical threading of a needle that has to happen in order to achieve an agreement,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Kerry plans to travel to the al-Quds (Jerusalem) and Ramallah to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on January 1.

SHI/SHI