Netanyahu fails to quell rebellion threats over evicting hundreds of Jews from their Hebron homes
Israel’s government has a nasty habit of throwing Jews out of their own homes in order to appease Muslims, the U.N., the E.U., and Obama.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to quell all rebellion threats from Bayit Yehudi politicians who pledged to vote against the coalition on Monday to protest the forced eviction of Jewish families Friday from two homes in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich said he would continue to boycott Knesset votes, which could prevent the government from passing key legislation.
The first test could be a bill that would put restrictions on non-profit organizations that receive most of their funding from foreign governments – ironically legislation that was sponsored by Smotrich himself.
Netanyahu said at Sunday’s cabinet meeting that the Hebron Jewish families would be allowed back into the two buildings, “once the purchases are confirmed”.
“The government supports settlements at all times, especially during these days when they are under terrorist attack and are standing steadfast and with courage against the terrorism,” he said.
Smotrich said, “I welcome Netanyahu’s decision to enable the residents of the home to return, but I won’t vote with coalition until they are back in the home that they legally purchased.”
Coalition chairman Tzachi Hanegbi said Smotrich’s threats would not lead to changing the agenda of the Knesset at all on Monday.
“Such threats to the coalition are unacceptable, especially in a narrow government,” Hanegbi said. “Threatening to topple the coalition cannot be accepted within the rules of the game. MKs who harm the coalition will be punished, as happened in the past, but I don’t want to act like I run a kindergarten.”
Itzik Ashkenazi, political adviser to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, tweeted that Netanyahu should replace Bayit Yehudi in the coalition with Labor. But Labor head Isaac Herzog said that was not a possibility.
At the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu promised to update ministers on the progress toward authorization of the two Hebron homes.
He also held a meeting of the coalition heads to calm down the voices within his own party and those of the Bayit Yehudi that had threatened to withhold necessary votes on legislative matters until such authorizations were issued.
