Ministers to Consider Yehudah and Shomron Sovereignty Law

The Ministerial Law Committee is set Sunday to consider a law based on a decision made last month by the Likud Central Committee to approve Israel’s imposing sovereignty on Yehudah and Shomron. The vote, which passed by an overwhelming majority, obligates Likud MKs to promote imposing Israeli sovereignty on at least Area C of Yehudah and Shomron, and all of the Jordan Valley.

The law is being presented by Likud MK Yoav Kisch, chairperson of the Knesset Interior Committee and the Land of Israel Lobby. “Israeli law, justice, administrative procedures and sovereignty will be imposed on all areas where Jews live in Yehudah and Shomron,” Kisch said. “This will be a historic move.”

According to the proposal, “on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Yehudah, Shomron and Yerushalayim, our eternal capital, the Likud Central Committee calls on Likud elected officials to act to allow unlimited construction and to impose Israeli law and sovereignty on Israeli towns in Yehudah and Shomron, located in Area C.”

As the law is expected to be approved by the Committee and easily be passed into law – as it is supported by almost all members of the coalition – the Likud will be sponsoring a public relations campaign under the title “Making History,” which will associate the imposition of sovereignty with other historic moments in the life of the state. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage the public to support the law and encourage MKs outside the coalition to support the law as well.

According to Kisch, “the time has come to move the historic decision by the Likud Central Committee from the theoretical to the practical. This is how a democratic party that represents the majority of Israel behaves. Especially during these days, when Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas appears to have lost his sense altogether, and on the other hand, when we see the great support we are getting from President Trump and Vice President Pence. There will never be a better, more precise, and more successful historical opportunity for this.”

Opposition MKs expressed sharp criticism of the proposal. If the proposal is approved, said opposition head MK Yitzchak Herzog (Zionist Camp), it “will go down in history as another irresponsible and impractical decision by the Likud. It is obvious that the prime minister will not be able to act on this decision, and it will just create tension with the current administration in the U.S., the most favorable ever to Israel, and create further disappointment on security, political and demographic issues on both sides. This is nothing more than cheap populism that will not enhance Israel’s security.”