New Law Would See Knesset Laws Apply in Yehudah and Shomron

YERUSHALAYIM
MK Yoav Kisch (Likud). (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

In the wake of the Likud’s vote Sunday that Israel impose sovereignty on Yehudah and Shomron, a new proposal by MK Yoav Kisch will be presented to MKs this week that would require the Knesset to include Yehudah and Shomron in the jurisdiction of any new law it passes. Kisch’s law is similar to one that was proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, and would require that a special addendum be added to any law that will require it to be implemented it in Area C of Yehudah and Shomron when it becomes law.

Currently, all of Yehudah and Shomron, including Area C, which is under full Israeli control, is ruled by military law, meaning that Israeli laws passed by the Knesset usually do not apply there, until a special order implementing them is signed by officials of the Civil Administration or the defense minister. The proposal by Kisch would require laws up for their second and third readings to go through an adjudication process that would ensure that they are implemented in Jewish towns in Yehudah and Shomron when they are passed by the Knesset.

This will be the last law proposed by Kisch as the head of the Knesset Control Committee, as he will be moving on to chair the Knesset Interior Committee. The Committee is set to discuss the law Wednesday. Kisch said that the law was necessary. “There are many laws that are passed that do not have specific details as to how they will be implemented when they are first passed. In Yehudah and Shomron, laws can be passed directly by the Knesset, or by order of the military governor, and the situation is unclear. We cannot allow this situation to continue,” Kisch told Hadashot News.

The proposal, according to MK Eitan Broshi (Zionist Camp), amounts to “creeping annexation,” and the Likud at its meeting Sunday is likely to endorse outright annexation of Yehudah and Shomron. “Someone needs to remind the Likud that senior members of their party, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself, have already declared support for the two-state solution, and are opposed to annexation. Polls show that the majority of Israelis, including rightwing voters, oppose this as well. Opposition parties must unite and propose a clear path to a solution of the conflict based on the two-state solution. Obviously there will be compromises, but we will not compromise on security.”

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