Likud, Religious Zionism MKs vote against bill to cut aid to Gaza

Knesset members from the Likud and Religious Zionism parties voted on Wednesday against an opposition bill that sought to bar the delivery of humanitarian aid and civil supplies to the Gaza Strip, including electricity, water and fuel.

The bill failed to pass, with 49 votes against and only 10 in favor.

Opponents argued that halting humanitarian aid would damage Israel’s international standing and jeopardize efforts to free the remaining hostages and defeat Hamas.

Yisrael Beiteinu lawmaker Yulia Malinovsky, who introduced the bill, criticized the government during the deliberation, saying that even as the war continues in Gaza, “we continue to engage in commerce” with the Palestinian enclave. “How can we, on the one hand, say we want to defeat Hamas—that Hamas is Gaza—and on the other hand, ensure it is fully supplied?” she asked.

Malinovsky told JNS that she expected all Zionist MKs to vote in favor of the bill. “It is not possible that while our soldiers are risking their lives in Gaza, the Israeli government is feeding the enemy,” she said.

“Although I disagree with Itamar Ben-Gvir on many things, I appreciate his and his party’s ideological vote in favor of the bill,” she continued, referring to Israel’s national security minister.

“Likud and Bezalel ‘Not a grain will enter Gaza’ Smotrich proved once again that words are one thing and deeds are another,” she added, referring to Israel’s finance minister and the head of the Religious Zionism Party. “I was disappointed that the Zionist opposition parties did not stand up and vote in favor of an important bill brought by an opposition party,” she said.

Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party broke with its coalition partners and voted in favor of the bill.

Members of opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party, along with those from former War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party, which also sits in the opposition, were notably absent from the vote.

Religious Zionism MKs Simcha Rothman, Ohad Tal, Zvi Sukkot and Moshe Solomon voted against the bill.

“I am in favor of the law, but as part of coalition discipline, we cannot vote in favor of the opposition’s laws, as they do not support our good initiatives,” Solomon told JNS.

United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Roth, a member of the coalition who also voted against the bill, told JNS that he does not support laws that force the government or military to act automatically.

“The government should have the power to utilize the proper strategy in a war,” he stated.

Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv dismissed the bill as populist, arguing that it bore no relevance to how the Knesset should legislate in matters involving the enemy or the surrounding civilian population during wartime.

She characterized the issue as a political decision that must consider international law, input from intelligence and military agencies, and external pressures, including from world leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Take, for example, a bill saying there should be no release of security prisoners serving life sentences—not even in exchange for hostages. That, too, is a political decision,” said Gotliv.

“This entire bill is just about creating a headline for the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, which did not hesitate to disclose a state secret on the radio about weapons being transferred to a group inside Gaza intended to fight Hamas,” she added.

“Yulia Malinovsky stood in the Knesset and claimed that soldiers are dying for nothing when it is clear they are falling in a battle that is vital to the State of Israel,” said Gotliv. “I will not support populist legislation in the Knesset, and I do not interfere in military directives related to warfare in enemy territory.”

Yisrael Beiteinu lawmaker Evgeny Sova told JNS that it was illogical for the government to direct the military to fight while simultaneously increasing aid and justifying it via international considerations.

“The government knows the majority of the aid goes to Hamas. Instead of relying on reasons such as American support or legal advisers who prevent halting the aid, this should be a decision by the government to apply significant pressure on Hamas to provide us with intelligence on the hostages,” said Sova.

A source in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee told JNS that Netanyahu should take a firm stance in favor of the Israeli soldiers in Gaza and take a risk.

“Give Hamas an ultimatum that if a deal to redeem the captives doesn’t progress, there will be a directive not to send aid to areas where we want to fight Hamas,” said the source.