RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has slammed a controversial Israeli law as”perpetuating racial discrimination” against Palestinians by defining thecountry as the nation state of the Jewish people, state media reported.

The law adopted by Israel’s parliament on Thursday also defines theestablishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest anddowngrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status.

Citing a Saudi foreign ministry source, the official Saudi Press Agencysaid late Friday the kingdom “rejects and disapproves” of the newlegislation which it argued contradicts international law.

The source called on the international community to “confront such a lawand or other Israeli attempts, aimed at perpetuating racial discriminationagainst the Palestinian people”, SPA reported.

Saudi Arabia said the adoption of the law would also be a barrier to endingthe decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Earlier this year King Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s “steadfast” supportfor the Palestinian cause, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signalleda shift in the country’s approach.

Prince Mohammed in April said in a magazine interview that Israelis as wellas Palestinians “have the right to have their own land”.

Arab citizens account for some 17.5 percent of Israel’s more than eightmillion population and have long complained of discrimination.

The Israeli legislation was also condemned by the six-nation GulfCooperation Council, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Adoption of the law “reflected the regime of racism and discriminationagainst the Palestinian people,” GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayaniwas quoted by SPA as saying.

Zayani accused Israel of trying to obliterate the Palestinians’ “nationalidentity and depriving them of their legitimate civil and human rights ontheir occupied homeland”. – APP/AFP