Egypt's foreign ministry on Thursday announced that Israel's amendments to a law making it more difficult to relinquish control over parts of Jerusalem in any further peace deal with the Palestinians is illegitimate.

On Tuesday, Israeli parliament passed a law that bars ceding any part of Jerusalem to "a foreign party" without the approval of the majority of the Knesset's 120 lawmakers, a move that threatens to further hold back peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

The ministry stated that the move is in contravention of international law concerning "the status of the city of Jerusalem as being under occupation, which makes any actions that change the status quo in the city not permissible."

"The law represents an obstacle to the future of the peace process and just settlement of the Palestinian issue," foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement on the ministry's Facebook page.

Officials from Arab countries and several world powers, including France, Russia, China and the UK, have insisted that the final status of Jerusalem should only be determined through negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Israel seized control of the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move that has never been recognised by the international community.

The Palestinians have long demanded East Jerusalem for the capital of their future state.

Last month, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, prompting outcry from Palestinians, Middle East leaders and the wider international commmunity, and setting off regional protests.