Israeli division: West Bank settlers law blocked
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The Netanyahu-led coalition challenges the very legitimacy of Bennett's governance.
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Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi attends a vote on a West Bank bill at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on June 6, 2022. (Flash90)
"Israel's" coalition government sustained a defeat from the opposition Monday, as a law to uphold Israeli law (The Judea and Sameria Law) in occupied West Bank settlements was voted down. This poses a challenge for the ruling party.
The law, which has been in effect since 1967 when the Israelis occupied the West Bank, gives settlers the same rights as citizens in "Israel." The law, every five years, is automatically ratified by the parliament - however, this year, two members of the broad coalition, in addition to a member of the Arab Ra'am party, and a member of the Meretz party Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, voted against the bill in its first reading.
The defiance does not address the continuation of Israeli law in the West Bank per se, but rather the very stability of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government,
"Justice" Minister Gideon Sa’ar, before the vote, said that the vote was a crucial test of the coalition’s legitimacy.
Read more: Bennett: 'Israel' stands before true test, gov't close to collapse
The opposition - mostly made up of ultra-Zionist parties and led by former PM Benjamin Netanyahu -, despite ideologically supporting Israeli expansion, announced that it will vote against the bill in a bid to express distrust in the government. It gathered a total of 58 votes to 52.
If the law does not pass on July 1, over 475,000 settlers in the West Bank will no longer receive the same rights as the rest of the settlers in other areas, including voting rights.
According to Israeli commentators, the Netanyahu-led coalition will not block the renewal of the settlement measures, which support settlers' "rights." Instead, the coalition has its eye on weakening Bennett's government.
“You ask us how we vote against [the bill],” said Likud Knesset Member, Yoav Kisch in a debate before the vote. “The answer is very easy. This will topple this bad government.”
“We’ll immediately pass it when we come back [to power],” he added. “We can’t leave 500,000 people without law and without order.”
In response, Bennett's Yamina party issued a statement that reads “The Likud will burn the state for Netanyahu’s needs," stressing that it will eventually find a way to reinforce the law.
Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid acknowledged that Bennett's coalition was defeated in the government, yielding that it will come back stronger to "win the next round."
Read more: Israeli PM Bennett loses majority after MP quits coalition
If the law does not pass in the coming weeks, Israeli settlers in the West Bank will become subject to the occupation's military rule, just like Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Israeli expert on international law, Emmanuel Gross.
Basic, everyday relations between settlers and the regime will crumble: "Israel" won’t be able to levy taxes and police won’t be able to investigate criminal offences, among other things, Gross said.
“The entire legal basis of what happens with the settlers today will be cancelled. This can cause chaos,” he said.
