The bill to extend the validity of regulations that apply Israeli law to Israelis living in Judea and Samaria is expected to go to a preliminary Knesset plenum vote Monday and so far, it isn’t clear whether it can win a majority. The Emergency Regulations – Judea and Samaria, Jurisdiction and Legal Assistance Act is the only thing protecting Israeli settlers in Area C from becoming directly governed by the IDF’s Civil Administration, much like their estimated 50,000 Arab neighbors.
These regulations were first enacted in 1967, and the government extends them every few years. They are due to expire at the end of June, and Justice Minister Gideon Saar (New Hope) wants to extend them but doesn’t have the votes. Inside the coalition, only some of the Ra’am and Meretz MKs have promised to support it, while Likud and Religious Zionism, the opposition right-wing factions, who by rights should be taking care of the settlers, have announced that they intend to vote against any bill initiated by the coalition.
The Judea and Samaria regulations will expire only at the end of June, and if the coalition discovers it doesn’t have a majority to pass the law Monday, it would hold the vote next week, and so on, until a majority is reached or the regulations expire – whichever comes first.
At the same time, the government is considering its legal options in case it fails to extend the regulations in the Knesset by the end of June. Minister Saar has requested a comprehensive legal opinion on the matter, and a preliminary investigation indicates that there would be legal solutions to restore the situation to its former state in Judea and Samaria on some of the issues.
These would not include, for example, prosecuting Israelis for criminal offenses committed in Judea and Samaria in Israeli courts, and they would have to stand trial in the military court system. Another nuisance: Israelis living in Judea and Samaria will be denied the right to state health insurance.
However, reporter Avishai Grinzaig tweeted on Monday morning that if the government falls and the Knesset is dissolveed before the expiration of the Judea and Samaria regulations, they would be extended automatically. Therefore, the opposition’s vote against the regulations in an attempt to overthrow the government does not mean that it is acting against the interests of Judea and Samaria settlers.
Ra’am held a meeting Sunday night on the question of how to vote but has not yet made a final decision. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met last week with Chairman Mansour Abbas and discussed with him the need to pass the law. Alternate PM Yair Lapid’s chief of staff Naama Schultz has been negotiating with the Islamist coalition partner. Abbas has been unable to persuade his faction member, MK Mazen Ghanaim to support the bill. The opposition Joint Arab List has been pressuring Ghanaim to abstain from voting so that the bill would fall through.
Ra’am MKs have also conditioned their vote in support of a bill they view as acknowledging the “Israeli occupation” of Judea and Samaria, on a commitment from Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi to support the law. The coalition leadership expects Zoabi’s vote to be likewise conditioned on Ra’am’s vote.
Then there’s MK Idit Silman, the Rogue Yamina faction MK who, according to her deal with party chairman Bennett, must not vote against any coalition bill or she would be expelled from the faction like Yamina’s other rogue MK, Amichai Chikli, who by law will not be allowed to join an existing slate––such as Likud or Religious Zionism––come next elections.
Saar insists that all 60 coalition members support the bill. Last week, he stated that “the vote on the Judea and Samaria Regulations Law will determine whether the coalition wants to exist or not,” and added that “the survival of the coalition is not a value in itself.” Meaning, that he is ready to walk on account of this bill.
Having faced rumors that he and Likud Chairman and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu have been negotiating his return to the party, Saar spent the weekend attacking Netanyahu. In conversation with New Hope activists, Saar said that Netanyahu’s refusal to vote to extend the Judea and Samaria regulations was “cynical and irresponsible.”
“Not only has he not applied sovereignty over Judea and Samaria when he could, but now he wants to undermine our ability to maintain government there. The opposition works by the method of ‘if I am not in power the country can burn.’ Their willingness to play with fire is a serious problem.”
The two Zionist opposition parties, headed by Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich are not troubled by these attacks, seeing as the polls are giving them a majority over the current coalition, and that majority could be further enhanced should Yamina and New Hope join a Netanyahu coalition to form a very strong, right-wing government. In the end, Netanyahu and Smotrich would argue, are Bennett’s and Saar’s loyalties with Lapid and Abbas over their old-time partners?
