JNS
The Knesset advanced two bills to extend sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement on Thursday, blasted opposition parties, as well as a fellow member of the premier's Likud faction, for advancing bills to apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.
Wednesday's Knesset votes were "a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord" during U.S. Vice President JD Vance's three-day visit to the Jewish state, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
"The two bills were sponsored by opposition members of the Knesset," the PMO statement continued, stressing that the Likud and the Modern Orthodox parties, which the PMO described as the "principal coalition members," did not vote in favor of the proposed legislation.
An opposition proposal to extend Jerusalem's full legal sovereignty over all Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria passed in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, with the support of 25 out of 120 Knesset members, while 24 MKs voted against.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit were among those backing the legislation. Members of the ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yisrael faction—the Chassidic part of United Torah Judaism—also voted in favor, as did one Likud MK.
A second proposal by Yisrael Beiteinu Party leader Avigdor Liberman to annex the Judean Desert city of Ma'ale Adumim passed in a preliminary vote 32-9, again with the support of some of the prime minister's longtime political partners.
The legislation will now be forwarded to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for consideration, with three additional votes in the plenum needed to become law.
Addressing the vote in favor by longtime Likud member Yuli Edelstein, Netanyahu on Thursday described him as a "disgruntled" lawmaker, noting that he was recently fired as chairman of the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
"Without Likud support, these bills are unlikely to go anywhere," the Prime Minister's Office said.
The premier on Thursday ordered his coalition whip, MK Ofir Katz, to immediately freeze the proposed bills in the committee.
Vance and Rubio
Wednesday's Knesset votes, which came on the second day of Vance's visit to the Jewish state, were condemned by the vice president and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"That's not something we can be supportive of right now," Rubio told reporters before leaving for Israel on Wednesday as part of Washington's efforts to promote the ceasefire with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Vance told reporters as he concluded his visit, "If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt and I personally take some insult.
"The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel," he declared at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
"That will continue to be our policy. If people want to take symbolic votes, they can do that. But we certainly weren't happy about it," Vance said.
Ben-Gvir tweeted on Thursday, "I have great appreciation for President Trump, who is undoubtedly the most pro-Israel American president.
"Alongside that, it is important to emphasize: Israel is an independent sovereign state—the members of the Knesset vote according to their judgment," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, PMO spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian said Israel, as a democratic country, welcomes "all opinions" from Knesset members.
"Here in the State of Israel ... people can speak their minds and support causes such as this one; the heartland of the Jewish people," she stated.
The Netanyahu government has led an unprecedented drive to expand Jerusalem’s control of Judea and Samaria, approving 41,709 housing units and 50 new Jewish communities since December 2022.
However, Katz told Likud MKs ahead of the votes 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 opposition bills.
"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 to fellow lawmakers.
"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 coalition whip's message said.
A strong message
MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, told JNS on Thursday, "It's not for me to say why most Likud members didn't support the bills on applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and in Ma'ale Adumim.
"Netanyahu likely wanted to be able to tell President Trump or members of his administration that he was not acting on this issue," he said. "I don’t want to criticize anyone, but I think it’s a good thing it passed.
Rothman noted that in July, the Knesset approved a resolution with broad support for applying sovereignty across Judea and Samaria.
"There is no better time than the present, and I think this sends a very strong message that Israel will not tolerate a Palestinian state and that this is our land. We can have all kinds of security arrangements, but our heartland—the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as President Trump mentioned in his plenum address—is our land and should be treated as such," Rothman told JNS.
Fellow Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal added, "President Trump, the Americans and the world must understand that there is a strong demand in Israel to apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
"If we want a decisive victory, to end the cycle of violence, and to bring lasting stability and peace to the region, it will be through applying sovereignty," he said.
Tal noted that while Netanyahu faces pressure from multiple directions, he also needs encouragement from the Knesset to strengthen his stance.
"We all remember what happened just weeks ago, when Britain, Canada and other countries called for the establishment of a Palestinian state—that cannot go unanswered," he said.
However, Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv stressed that Netanyahu "is currently leading one of the most critical negotiations in recent days—persuading the Trump administration not to supply Turkey with F-35 fighter jets and not to allow Turkish military forces into Gaza.
"This is of the utmost importance to Israel's security," she told JNS.
"When a prime minister requests to delay debate on a sovereignty application bill for two or three weeks at the preliminary stage, we should respect that decision," Gotliv said.
"The settlement momentum in Judea and Samaria over the past two years has been tremendous, supported by the United States. Creating discomfort in Washington or giving the impression that the prime minister lacks control over his coalition is detrimental to his ability to block Turkey’s entry and to strengthen Israel’s air power superiority over it," she added.
