The coalition removed the Shas-backed authority-transfer bill and the Religious Zionism-backed bill allowing the interior minister to place small villages under local or regional councils, N12 reported Monday night, after United Torah Judaism opposed both items.
The coalition withdrew two contentious legislative items on Monday night after United Torah Judaism signaled it would vote against them if they remained on the Knesset agenda, according to N12's Dafna Liel.
The removed bills are: (1) the Shas-backed authority-transfer clause, which would have shifted certain governmental powers; and (2) the Religious Zionism-sponsored amendment to the Local Councils Ordinance, which would have allowed the interior minister to subject small villages to the jurisdiction of a local or regional council. UTJ had announced earlier Monday that its faction would vote unanimously against both items if they were kept on the plenum agenda (as The Zioneer reported at 16:34).
The pullback is the latest instance of coalition legislative maneuvering this summer. In late June, the coalition withdrew all its bills from the Knesset agenda following a deal between Prime Minister Netanyahu and ultra-Orthodox factions. This week, both the coalition and the opposition had already pulled their bills from the schedule in an unusual move attributed to primary campaign season.
The specifically-named bills are now off the table, clearing the immediate legislative disharmony between coalition parties on these items. It remains unclear whether the coalition intends to reintroduce either bill in a future session.
3 developments
- StrongShas and UTJ halt coalition voting in Knesset over daycare bill delay
- DevelopingCoalition pulls all its bills from Knesset agenda after deal with ultra-Orthodox parties
- DevelopingShas official denies blame in coalition dispute over religious enlistment bill
- DevelopingShas fires back at UTJ: accusations are false and harmful
Source and signal
- Internal intake