The resignation of the Otzma Yehudit Party from Israel’s governing coalition on Sunday in the wake of the hostage-terrorist exchange deal struck with Hamas has created a political domino effect that will see the temporary resignation of Bezalel Smotrich from his role as finance minister.
Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the Religious Zionism Party, led by Smotrich, ran for office in a unified candidates list in November 2022, but split into separate Knesset factions following the national election.
Under Israel’s so-called Norwegian Law, ministers (except the prime minister) and deputy ministers can resign from the legislature but remain in their Cabinet posts, with their Knesset seat taken by the next person on the party’s candidates list. If the person who resigned leaves the Cabinet, they are able to return to the Knesset in place of his or her replacement.
So when Otzma Yehudit’s Amichai Eliyahu resigned as heritage minister and reentered the legislature, Otzma Yehudit gained a Knesset mandate, at the expense of Religious Zionism’s Zvi Sukkot, who found himself no longer a lawmaker.
To restore the original agreed upon balance between the two parties, Smotrich is expected to temporarily resign from his ministerial post so he can return to parliament at the expense of Yitzhak Kroizer of Otzma Yehudit. Smotrich will then retake to his post as finance minister, but this time not resign as a Knesset member.
Calcalist reported that due to the Knesset reshuffle, Sukkot and Kroizer will receive between them a retirement grant of around 100,000 shekels (~$28,000): 47,583 shekels (~$13,300) and 51,548 shekels (~$14,400), respectively.
With this development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition has been reduced to 63 Knesset members out of 120, including lawmaker Almog Cohen, who was elected on the Otzma Yehudit slate but is now working independently of the party.
Meanwhile, Ynet reported that Netanyahu’s Likud Party has been trying to further split Ben-Gvir’s party, which consists of five lawmakers since Cohen left.
According to Israeli law, if less than a third of a party’s Knesset members split, they cannot run for office as part of a party represented in the current Knesset in the following election.
With Cohen already acting independently from the faction, a split of one more member could lead to the declaration of a new independent faction, which could weaken Ben-Gvir’s political power in the next election.
MK Zvika Fogel, who was reportedly approached by Likud in an attempt to persuade him to split from Otzma Yehudit, issued a statement on Monday morning dismissing this effort.
“Over the past few days, I received several unofficial requests to continue my activities in other party frameworks. I did not join politics for hugs, pats on the back and official roles, and I am not looking for the continuation of my political future in other parties like other members who fell into this trap,” Fogel said.
“I joined Otzma Yehudit to make sure that the State of Israel follows the ideological path that I believe is the most correct for its security, civil and social future and to make an impact. The decision to leave our position in the government and the Knesset was not an easy one and we know that it will be difficult for others to step into these shoes.
“But as we said, we will not be able to continue to function when our influence on the government’s policy in matters of profound importance is not examined in depth and is not accepted,” Fogel said.