The Israeli prime minister has agreed to change an amendment to the Citizen Act which singled out Arabs requesting Israeli citizenship to include Jewish immigrants as well, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
Benjamin Netanyahu's decision follows international condemnation of the so-called loyalty oath, which will require Arabs applying for Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to "the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."
The amendment, approved over a week ago by the Israeli cabinet, would not have applied to Jewish immigrants. Under the "Law of Return," every Jew has the right to become an Israeli citizen upon immigration, DPA reported.
But Arab Israeli parliamentarian Ahmed Tibi, of the Ra'am - Ta'al faction which has four mandates in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament), was unappeased by the change.
"The inclusion of Jews does not dull the thorn of the original intention of the amendment - to force Arabs to pledge allegiance to the Jewishness of the state," he said.
The bill has been criticized for singling out minorities, in particular Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip married to Israeli Arabs, currently estimated at around 25,000. They usually request citizenship in order to be with their families.
The bill has yet to pass the Knesset.
The oath would not apply to Israel's Arab citizens, around 200 per cent of the population, as they are born with Israeli citizenship.