Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz issued an unusual appeal to the opposition Monday evening, warning that legislation barring Red Cross visits to Nukhba terrorists will fail today unless all Zionist parties vote in favor. Katz said the bill's fall would leave the murdered and kidnapped unavenged — and urged lawmakers not to harm state security over politics.
Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz (Likud) issued an unusual appeal to the opposition Monday evening, as the Haredi boycott threatens to kill a bill barring Red Cross visits to convicted Nukhba terrorists.
Katz warned that if the legislation does not pass today — before the Knesset disperses — it will be lost entirely. "If the law does not pass today, it will not be able to pass at all, and the Nukhbas [Nukhba terrorists] will receive assistance," Katz said in a statement. He called on all coalition and opposition Zionist parties to vote in favor and not to harm state security over politics.
The urgency follows Shas's earlier threat to boycott the bill unless its own legislative priorities advance, as reported by The Zioneer earlier Monday. The Haredi boycott has left the coalition without a guaranteed majority for the bill, forcing Katz to seek votes from the opposition. The Knesset disperses today for the election period, meaning legislation not passed now lapses and must be reintroduced after the next election.
Red Cross visits to Nukhba terrorists — those who participated in the October 7, 2023 massacre — have been a politically charged issue. The bill's proponents argue such visits provide legitimacy and comfort to perpetrators of the worst atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust. Civil rights groups oppose the ban as a violation of international humanitarian law.
It remains unclear whether Zionist opposition parties will back the bill or allow it to fall.
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