Exclusive – a Proposal for legislation to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria
Annexation is on the Agenda
Likud Central did it, now it’s the Knesset’s turn: MK Yoav Kish has proposed legislation for annexation with the same wording as that which was passed by the party members . “The time has come”, he says, “we will not have a better and more appropriate opportunity”
Amihai Attali, Sunday January 28th 2018, Yediot Aharonot page 8
Translated by Sally Zahav for the Sovereigny Movement
A month ago, the Likud Central Committee passed a decision in favor of applying Israeli sovereignty in all areas of Jewish settlement in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. And now, with the extra tailwind provided by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s visit and President Donald Trump’s rebuke to the Palestinians, the Central Committee’s decision has resulted in legislation proposed by MK Yoav Kish.
The history of legislation for annexation in this Knesset is very rich: in the past, Kish, together with MK Bezalel Smotrich, has proposed legislation to annex Ma’ale Adumim, but the discussion of this legislation was postponed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation; MK Moti Yogev and MK Miki Zohar proposed legislation to annex Gush Etzion, the City of Ariel and the Jordan Valley; Minister Yisrael Katz attempted to promote legislation to annex Givat Ze’ev; MK Shuli Mualem proposed legislation to rescind the Disengagement Law in northern Samaria – however, all of these proposals failed, mainly because of the coalitions’ concerns over reactions from the international community.
But now there is someone who has decided to take the proposed annexation laws another step forward. A few days ago, MK Kish presented the Knesset with proposed legislation with wording that is identical to that which was passed by Likud Central. Note: The decision that was made by Likud Central did not state that the territories of Judea and Samaria would be annexed, but that the territory of all the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria would be annexed to the State of Israel and that Israeli law would be applied there.
With Kish’s proposed legislation, the rightist politicians will have to demonstrate that they are willing to take the decision to annex the settlements one step further to implementation. There is no doubt that the path for this proposed legislation will not be easy and it will probably cause some unpleasantness for Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A forum entitled Uniting for Sovereignty, with hundreds of members of Likud Central, will soon take place, as part of a campaign called Making History, with the objective of pressuring MKs and ministers to promote the sovereignty law.
MK Kish stated: “The time has come to take the decision of Likud Central, turn it into practical details and apply sovereignty over the areas of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. There will not be a better and more suitable historical opportunity to do it”.
Ariel Morali, a member of the Uniting for Sovereignty Forum, said: “We are grateful to MK Kish, who is leading the implementation of the historic decision. In 2018, the Likud is making history just as David Ben Gurion made history in 1948, Moshe Dayan and Rabin in 1967 and Menahem Begin in 1977”.