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At a Glance: The 37th Government of Israel 

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Israel has recently formed a new government, the most far-right in the state’s 74-year history. Given Israel’s imposed rule over millions of Palestinians, the makeup and platform of this government is of concern to Palestinians living throughout the entirety of the land under Israeli control and those in exile, as well as a range of minority communities, and members of the international community concerned with the promotion of democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law. 

Below is a compilation of some key elements of the new government’s platform and indicators of upcoming laws, policies and practices:

Settlements, annexation, dispossession

  • First principle of the new government: “The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right over all areas of the land of Israel. The government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan and Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank].” 

  • During the election campaign, Netanyahu and allies signed a pledge to engage in “massive construction” of settlements. 

  • Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism), Minister of Finance, a self-declared “proud homophobe” and supporter of a shoot to kill policy for Palestinians who throw stones - whose visit to the UK in 2022 was widely condemned by many parties, including British Jewish organisations - will oversee expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

  • January 1st: Zvika Fogel (Jewish Power) declared the occupation of Palestinian territories as permanent at least “as of right now”.

  • January 1st: Haim Katz (Likud), Minister of Tourism, promised to invest in developing Israeli tourism in the occupied West Bank, referring to the area as ‘our local Tuscany’.

  • January 2nd: Palestinians in several villages in Masafer Yatta learned of Israel’s plans to imminently expel them from their homes. The following day, Israeli forces demolished several structures in the area, including homes, water tanks and olive orchards, despite widespread international condemnation over the past year.

Incitement and violence against Palestinians

  • Itamar Ben-Gvir (Jewish Power) will be Israel’s national security minister responsible for overseeing policing throughout territory under Israeli control. Ben-Gvir advocates for relaxing of open fire regulations to shoot anyone holding stones or Molotov cocktails - applying only to those who “hate Israel”. In 2022, Ben-Gvir set up an “office” in the occupied Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, and on one occasion pulled out a gun, encouraging police to shoot Palestinians protesting eviction from their homes. 

  • On January 3rd, Ben Gvir - in an act of provocation - entered and ‘toured’ the al-Aqsa mosque compound, a part of occupied East Jerusalem and Islam’s third holiest site. His actions – a reflection of ongoing attempts to change the Status Quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites - drew condemnation from the UN and governments around the world.

  • Yisrael Katz (Likud), in a 2022 speech in the Knesset to Arab students: “Remember 48 - our independence war and your nakba… If you don’t calm down, we’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget…”

  • Zvika Fogel: “An Arab who throws a stone at a soldier needs a bullet in the head, a Jew who throws a stone needs to be educated”.

Racism and Bigotry

  • Bezalel Smotrich: “It’s natural that my wife wouldn’t want to lie down [in a bed] next to a woman who just gave birth to a baby who might want to murder her baby 20 years from now. Arabs are my enemies, and that’s why I don’t enjoy being next to them.”

  • Itamar Ben-Gvir has previously been convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terror organisation.

  • Miri Regev (Likud), Minister of Transportation, once described Sudanese asylum seekers as “a cancer”, blaming the Supreme Court for stopping deportations.

  • Avi Maoz (Noam), advocates for reinstatement of “conversion therapy” and banning of Jerusalem Pride march. Meanwhile, Orit Strook (Religious Zionism), Minister of National Missions, and Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) are outspoken supporters of legislation which would allow businesses and doctors to refuse service or treatment to those who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Other Notable points

  • A key proposal of the governing coalition is a bill to weaken the authority of the judiciary by allowing a simple Knesset majority to ‘override’ any Supreme Court decision. If successful, this bill will increase the government’s power to: revoke citizenship of Palestinians, accelerate illegal seizure and settlement of Palestinian land, deport African asylum seekers, deny LGBTQ rights, enforce gender segregation in public spaces and more.

  • Beyond the governing coalition, only 10 out of 120 MKs would end Israel’s military occupation and realise Palestinian sovereignty: Hadash (5 seats) and Ra’am (5 seats). 

 

The British Palestinian Committee is an independent organisation working to ensure that British Palestinian perspectives are integral to public discourse and policy making on Palestine.

www.britpalcommittee.co.uk