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.
“Certainly not at a time when we are working with our American friends to achieve all the goals of the war, including dismantling Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza,” he wrote in a message.
“Therefore, the faction’s position is not to vote at all on the bills that will be brought up today on the matter. This position comes at the direction of the prime minister and is binding,” the message continued.
All Likud lawmakers left the Knesset plenum ahead of the vote, except for Yuli Edelstein, who was removed at Netanyahu’s orders as chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee some three months ago.
“I just voted in the Knesset plenum in favor of applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Edelstein tweeted after the vote. “Especially at this time, Israeli sovereignty over all parts of our homeland is the need of the hour. As someone who has fought for the Land of Israel throughout my years in this building and out of a clear belief in the justice of our cause.”
Maoz’s law passed with the backing of 25 out of 120 Knesset members, while 24 MKs voted against the proposal. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit were among those voting in favor.
Liberman’s received support from 32 lawmakers, compared to nine who opposed sovereignty in Ma’ale Adumim. All Zionist opposition parties, including opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, voted in favor.
Wednesday’s developments are “causing a lot of embarrassment for the coalition, and especially for the Likud Party,” an opposition source told Channel 12 ahead of the vote, adding: “We have always said we would take advantage of every opportunity to embarrass the coalition.”
Nearly 70% of Israelis want Jerusalem to extend full legal sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 29.
Meanwhile, 58% of Israeli Jews believe that the civilian communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to national security, according to a poll the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11.
On Feb. 21, 2024, the Knesset voted 99-11 to reject unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood. All coalition members and most lawmakers from Zionist opposition parties voted against “international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.”
In July, a majority of 71 out of 120 Knesset members from the coalition and opposition passed a non-binding resolution in favor of applying Jerusalem’s sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
