Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
Former Housing Minister, MK Zeev Elkin, June 12, 2022.

The new coalition chairman, MK Ofir Katz, intends to bring to a vote in the Knesset plenum the regulations of Israel’s entire enforcement and legal system in Judea and Samaria, which include the ability to judge and imprison PA Arabs and carry out police actions.

Former Housing Minister, MK Ze’ev Elkin (National Camp) told Reshet Bet Radio Sunday morning that he and his party (including Benny Gantz and Gideon Sa’ar) will support renewing the regulations, and will not vote against them as part of the opposition the way the Likud had done.

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The right-wing opposition parties last summer torpedoed legislation to renew a sunset-restricted law that automatically bans family reunifications for PA and Israeli spouses. Led by then-opposition chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, the parties decided it was preferable to help topple the Lapid-Bennett government even at the cost of jeopardizing Israel’s security – this despite some objection within the right-wing ranks. In the end, RZP MK Simcha Rothman came up with a formula that resolved the issue, together with then-Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.

Elkin said that “everyone understands the regulations need to be approved. You won’t see us fostering achievements for [Joint Arab List MK] Ahmed Tibi, and you won’t see us delaying visa exemptions for Israelis by the United States (all the results of Netanyahu’s opposition bloc’s action intended to topple the left-leaning government – DI).”

At the same time, Elkin argued against the new coalition agreements that include appointing three different ministers in charge of Judea and Samaria. “The new situation will cause daily conflicts between Galant, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir, it’s a hallucinatory decision,” he said.

The term “hallucinatory” (“hazuy” in Hebrew) is used to describe bad ideas that do not necessarily have anything to do with consuming psychedelic substances.

The Emergency Regulations (Judea and Samaria – Judgment and Regarding Offenses and Legal Support), 5727-1967, known by their abbreviated name Yosh Regulations, are emergency regulations established by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan on July 2, 1967, shortly after the Six-Day War, to regulate the legal situation that was created as a result of Israel’s control of the territories that had just been liberated. At that time, the regulations affected the Golan Heights, Judea, Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai. Since then, Israel gave back the Sinai, left Gaza unilaterally, and annexed the Golan. So today, the regulations cover the legal interface of the state with its citizens living in Judea and Samaria, as well as with the regional municipal authorities.

The regulations are not permanent and come with a sunset date – as befits areas that the state still considers to be under temporary military occupation. The last sunset came on June 30, 2022, the same day the 24th Knesset voted to dissolve itself and go to a new election. The sunset was therefore postponed automatically to February 15, 2023, or three months following the establishment of the 25th Knesset.

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David writes news at JewishPress.com.