by Anna Barsky
The Knesset passed a preliminary vote to apply Israeli sovereignty in Ma’aleh Adumim, prompting praise from right-wing MKs and criticism from Washington, which warned it could threaten the Gaza deal.
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Israeli politicians and organizations reacted to Yisrael Beytenu chair MK Avigdor Liberman's "Application of Sovereignty in Ma’aleh Adumim" bill passing a preliminary reading by a vote of 32-9 on Wednesday.
"On the way to sovereignty, on the way to history! Today, we passed in the Knesset plenum the first step toward applying Israeli sovereignty over Ma’aleh Adumim. The coalition tried to stop and stall the move, and failed," Liberman said following the vote.
"Yisrael Beytenu did not give up, and together, we succeeded. We are the right wing of action, not of words," he added.
MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) voted in support of the bill despite pressure from the Likud party to toe the line. Coalition leadership voted to impose sanctions on Edelstein for his decision to support the bill.
"For me, the Land of Israel is not a ‘political provocation,’ it is the guarantee of our existence here. I am proud that I voted in favor of applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. This is the need of the hour," Edelstein commented.
"True sovereignty will not be achieved by a showpiece law for the record, but through proper work on the ground and creating the political conditions for recognition of our sovereignty, as was done in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem," the statement added.
Marco Rubio believes such a vote 'might be counterproductive'
The Knesset's approval of advancing a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank poses a threat to the Gaza ceasefire deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented."They passed a vote in the Knesset, but the president [Donald Trump] has made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now," he told reporters on the tarmac before boarding his flight to depart for Israel. "We think there’s potential for it to threaten the peace deal."
"They’re a democracy, people are going to have their votes, people are going to take these positions, but at this time we think it might be counterproductive," he added.
"Mr. Prime Minister, the Knesset has spoken. The people have spoken. The time has come to apply full sovereignty over all the territories of Judea and Samaria, our ancestral inheritance, and to advance peace-for-peace agreements with our neighbors from a position of strength," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said.
"The application of Israeli sovereignty over the regions of our land is the dream of all generations. It is our right and also our historic duty. It is the political plan of the Right. It is the decision of the Knesset plenum by an overwhelming majority. It is the duty of the government, the right-wing government, which should have advanced this in a statesmanlike manner. We have waited long enough," National Missions Minister Orit Strock (RZP) said.
"President Trump spoke of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it is our role as the Knesset to say that the land promised to them will be ours fully and not partially," MK Simcha Rothman (RZP) said.
"They were wrong today, they should have voted in favor," Otzma Yehudit chair and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commented.
This is "a historic bill. I am surprised that Netanyahu’s position was against the bill to apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. I am glad that we are making the government act as a right-wing government," Ben-Gvir added.
"Aside from the principle that we have a huge ultra-Orthodox public in Judea and Samaria that we must stand by, the one who proposed the bill is Avi Maoz, who stands by us in laws concerning Torah students, and we must assist him," MK Yisrael Eichler (UTJ) said.
This is "a bad week for the coalition. They began Monday with incitement, division, misogyny, and chauvinism, and not even one government bill passed," MK Merav Ben Ari (Yesh Atid) said.
They moved to Wednesday, arrived with 14 legislative pages, and were left only with opposition bills. The laws they tried to block passed. In short, as I said at the beginning of the week, dissolve (the Knesset) as soon as possible. And yes, it’s the haredim (ultra-Orthodox), but also the entire opposition was together," Ben Ari added.
"We thank the MKs who advanced the historic proposals to promote sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and they will be remembered in the history books as those who act to correct a long-standing injustice," Mateh Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chair Israel Ganz said.
"At the same time, the reality in which, under a full right-wing government, the opposition is the one pushing for sovereignty is unacceptable. We call on the coalition in the Knesset and the government to take responsibility for these laws and to advance sovereignty in full as soon as possible," Ganz added.
A separate bill on applying Israeli sovereignty to the entire West Bank, titled “Application of Israeli Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, 2025,” was initiated by MK Avi Maoz (Noam).
The vote on Maoz's bill passed by a narrow margin of 25-24 following a heated discussion in the Knesset.
Keshet Neev and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
Anna Barsky
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-871352
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