A contentious piece of legislation has been approved by Israel’s parliament, opening the door to Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection as prime minister.
Netanyahu received a mandate to form a government supported by ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and an extreme-right bloc following his victory in the election on November 1.
On Thursday, Netanyahu will address parliament with what, according to analysts, will be the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.
Legislators approved legislation on Tuesday that now allows individuals convicted of crimes but not sentenced to a prison term to serve as ministers.
Aryeh Deri, a key ally of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, had previously pleaded guilty to tax violations, so it was unclear whether he would be able to serve before the law was passed.
A second law that targets the defense portfolio allows two ministers to hold the same position.
Bezalel Smotrich, head of the limit right development Strict Zionism, is to be the pastor with command over common undertakings in the involved West Bank — an obligation generally tumbling to the protection serve, who still can’t seem to be reported.
Another extreme-right figure, Itamar Ben Gvir, will be given the national security minister’s portfolio after the Knesset votes to increase its powers.
Yariv Levin, a ally of Netanyahu, resigned from his position as interim speaker of the Knesset during the morning session ahead of his anticipated appointment to a ministry.
Before any ministerial appointment, he must not have held the position of speaker for more than 48 hours, according to the rules.
Israel's parliament has approved amendments to a law that would allow ultra-Orthodox MP Arye Dery to be appointed as interior and health minister despite his criminal conviction and clear the way for far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich to appoint a minister within the war ministry. pic.twitter.com/utOSgW1EiG
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 27, 2022
Fears of military escalation
Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption allegations in court, has been premier of Israel for longer than anyone else, from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021, a record 12-year span.
His approaching government has started fears of a tactical heightening in the involved West Bank in the midst of the most exceedingly terrible viciousness in the Israeli-involved Palestinian region for almost 20 years.
Benny Gantz, the current defense minister, spoke late on Tuesday about his “fear” of the new government’s “extremist direction,” which he said could harm Israel’s security.
In an interview with Channel 12 television, he stated, “I think that if the government acts in an irresponsible way, it could cause a security escalation.”
Read: It’s A Genocide! The Visibly Invisible Conflict of Palestine
Decades of Israeli occupation
During the 1967 Middle East War, Israel occupied Gaza as well as the West Bank, which included East Jerusalem. In 1980, it annexed the entire city of East Jerusalem and claimed it as Israel’s “eternal” capital, a move that the international community never acknowledged.
Since its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, it has imposed a severe land, sea, and air blockade on the besieged Palestinian enclave.
East Jerusalem, Palestine’s heartland and ultimate capital, is regarded as a part of its country.
Global regulation perspectives the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “involved domain” and thinks about all Jewish settlement-building action on the land to be unlawful.
Israel is accused by Palestinians of aggressively “Judaizing” the historic city by denouncing its Arab and Islamic identity and evicting its Palestinian residents, they claim.
Over 130 illegal Israeli settlements dot the occupied West Bank, home to nearly 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers and nearly three million Palestinians under Israeli military occupation.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
