Tel-Chai Nation

Here's a report of some politicians in the government who're thinking of getting the Knesset to legalize some outposts in Judea/Samaria:

Right-wing politicians may bypass the government and turn instead to the Knesset in their quest to legalize West Bank outposts.

Community Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi had hoped to submit a text for a decision on the matter to the government for debate and for approval at its meeting this week.

At present, that option is not possible, Hanegbi told The Jerusalem Post, because Alternative Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz “is not with us” and has blocked the measure.

Gantz “took a step back, and he is intercepting this resolution,” Hanegbi said. Therefore, he said, “we are considering bringing in to the parliament as legislation.”

The matter would be brought forward as a private members bill. Typically, such a bill would need to wait 45 days before coming to the plenum for an initial vote.

Hanegbi explained, however, that it is possible to adapt a private member’s bill on the outpost issue that had already been submitted earlier months ago, and then adapt it in committee to reflect the decision Hanegbi had written for a government vote.

Hanegbi has publicly stated, including in the Knesset plenum last month that Netanyahu supports the initiative to legalize the outposts.

“We believe there is a majority in the parliament that support it,” Hanegbi said. He included in that two parties in the opposition, MK Naftali Bennett’s Yamina Party and MK Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu Party.

If Bennett and Liberman's parties do support any such bill, of course that's a good thing. Even so, it's regrettable they either refused to enter the government respectably, or made it difficult to accept them, or both. So I suppose this would have to be a show of fence mending on their part.

Labels: islam, Israel, Knesset, Moonbattery, war on terror