Yamina MK Nir Orbach announced Monday that he has decided not to vote together with his coalition colleagues until the Judea & Samaria Law is passed.
“I told the prime minister this morning that given the current situation, I am not part of the coalition,” Orbach said, in a statement from his office. “After a week of meetings with the prime minister and others, I’ve come to the conclusion that the coalition cannot continue to operate the way it is now.”
Orbach has been mulling this move for months. The MK announced in April that he would join the opposition if three demands were not met: (1) abolition of Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman’s plan to eliminate daycare subsidies for the children of rabbinic students (in kolel); convening the Supreme Planning Commission — which had not met for months — to approve construction in Judea and Samaria; and to connect young settlements to the Israeli electricity grid. Illegal Bedouin villages in the Negev have already been hooked up to the grid.
Nevertheless, he said, he would not support a no-confidence measure in the Knesset, saying another round of elections would not produce “the necessary stability for governing the country.
“I will not vote in the coming week to dissolve the Knesset. I will work with all my might for a stable government with a national spirit.
““Extremist and anti-Zionist actors like MKs Ghanaim and Zoabi have taken the coalition in problematic directions. They have held it hostage the whole time,” he added.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, with whom Orbach has been meeting almost daily since last Wednesday, confirmed the MK had informed the prime minister of his decision prior to making the announcement.
Orbach’s decision will make it that much harder for the coalition government, already fragile, to pass legislation.
Ra’am Shuffles the Deck, Yamina Teetering, Blue & White MK to Vote Against Coalition
Labor chairperson Merav Michaeli pleaded during a meeting of her faction with Orbach and other coalition rebels – Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi of Meretz, Michael Biton of the Blue & White party, and Mazen Ghanaim of Ra’am (United Arab List) – not to bolt.
“I call on my friends and colleagues – Nir, Ghaida, Mazen, Michael – do not let all our great achievements go down the drain,” Michaeli said.
“Do not let them confuse you, lie to you and sell you all kinds of fictions and legends. You are partners in the miracle that happened here, in this government that is so important, in this historic coalition. We all share the responsibility to ensure it continues, for the State of Israel and for the people of the State of Israel.”
The Judea & Samaria Law extends Israeli civilian and criminal law to Jewish communities in the territories and must be renewed on a regular basis.
The law – an emergency measure — was first passed in 1967, shortly after the Six Day War during which IDF captured Judea and Samaria and has been renewed regularly ever since.
One week ago, the Knesset rejected the motion to renew the measure for another five years, in a vote of 58 to 52.
MKs Mazen Ghanaim (Ra’am—United Arab List) and Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (Meretz), both of whom are coalition members, joined the opposition in voting against renewing the measure.
New Hope party chairman and Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned ahead of the vote that failure to renew the law would have grim consequences.
“These are regulations whose continued validity is critical for maintaining daily public order in Judea and Samaria. Without them, the region will become a jungle, and a city of refuge for offenders,” Sa’ar said.
“Israeli citizens living in Judea and Samaria will lose their most basic rights and will live in chaos. . . The ramifications of not passing the bill also include harm to the ability to conduct security investigations,” he noted.
In response, Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman asked why the opposition should support it. “Because you can’t pass government legislation in your coalition?…Can’t you pass status quo [legislation]?…Can’t you prevent chaos?”
Likud MK Yoav Kisch was more blunt, explaining the opposition’s bottom line: “This is a bill that will topple this bad and dangerous government.”
