Itamar Ben-Gvir announces that his party is leaving Netanyahu’s coalition over the ceasefire agreement Photo: Alex Hamburg/Ynetnews
The withdrawal of the Otsma Yehudit party from the Israeli government coalition has led to significant changes in the government and parliament. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, 19 January.
Distribution of ministries
Following the withdrawal of Otzma Yehudit, the three ministries run by its representatives – the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Development of the Negev, the Galilee and National Resilience, and the Ministry of Heritage – will be redistributed.
According to sources:
- TheMinistry of National Security may be headed by Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, who previously held this position.
- TheMinistry of Development of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience is also likely to be transferred to one of the Likud ministers.
- TheMinistry of Heritage is to be integrated into one of the existing ministries.
Return to the Knesset
Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu resigned, which automatically allows him to return to the Knesset in accordance with the “Norwegian law”. This will lead to the resignation of the Religious Zionist Party’s MK Tzvi Sukkot.
To compensate for the loss, Religious Zionist Party leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrych may make a technical resignation to return to the Knesset. This will allow him to oust Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kreuzer, while Smotrych will remain in the post of Finance Minister.
Reshuffle in the parliament
Members of the Otsma Yehudit party resigned from their assigned positions in the Knesset, in particular:
- Chairmanship of the National Security Committee;
- Chairman of the Oversight Committee of the Israel Civil Fund;
- membership in the Judicial Selection Committee.
Implications for the coalition
The exit of Otsma Yehudit poses new challenges for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. According to sources, the government had been planning to reshuffle the parliament even before this event, but now the changes will cover a larger number of positions.
