While the Netanyahu government has led an unprecedented drive to expand Israel's control of the territories, his ruling Likud party did not support either bill, as they were put forward by opposition parties.
Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday passed in preliminary reading two opposition bills to extend legal sovereignty to Judea and Samaria. One bill, by Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman, seeks to annex Ma’ale Adumim, a large city in the Judean Desert, while a second, by Noam Party head Avi Maoz, concerns all of Judea and Samaria.
The legislation will now be forwarded to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for consideration ahead of three additional votes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought to thwart the bills, which were put to a vote as U.S. Vice President JD Vance was visiting Jerusalem, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 News.
The Netanyahu government has led an unprecedented drive to expand Jerusalem’s control of Judea and Samaria, reportedly approving 41,709 housing units and 50 new Jewish communities since December 2022. However, Ofir Katz, the coalition whip, told fellow members of the ruling Likud Party ahead of the vote that while the issue of sovereignty “is no less important to us than to any other member of Knesset,” the move should not be achieved through supporting legislation proposed by opposition lawmakers,” according to Channel 12. (Read More)
