The Knesset on Wednesday approved the return of MK Itamar Ben-Gvir’s party to the governing coalition and his reappointment as national security minister. The Knesset also approved Ben-Gvir’s fellow party members, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichai Eliyahu, as Development of the Negev and Galilee and National Resilience Minister and Heritage Minister, respectively.
Otzma Yehudit left the government in January over its decision to approve the hostage deal. All three positions were given to Tourism Minister Haim Katz for “safeguarding” in case Otzma Yehudit returned to the government. Ben-Gvir said at the time that he would return to the government if the war resumed, and he announced his return the day after the IDF launched widespread strikes in Gaza.
The return of Otzma’s six MKs to the coalition means the government now has a sizable majority to pass the 2025 state budget, without which it would have collapsed. The government previously had a narrow majority since some haredi (ultra-Orthodox) MKs pledged to vote against the budget due to the government’s failure to enact legislation to exempt a large number of yeshiva students from military service.
The government on Monday already reached agreements with Ben-Gvir, according to which his party will abstain on the economics arrangements bill, which was set to reach the plenum on Wednesday. The bill accompanies the national budget every year and includes related legal amendments that are necessary for the budget to be carried out in full.
Ben-Gvir agreed to abstain as a “goodwill gesture” over the prime minister’s decisions to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara. It remains to be seen whether he conditioned his return to the government on the final removal of both figures.
The government, in its decision to reappoint Ben-Gvir, ignored the attorney-general’s directive. She wrote to Netanyahu on Tuesday that Ben-Gvir could not be reappointed to the position due to an ongoing High Court petition against his conduct, which allegedly included illegal involvement in operational matters.
High Court refuses injunction
The High Court refused on Tuesday to issue an injunction against the appointment. The court noted that the state’s response on the matter was due in the coming days in any case, ahead of a scheduled hearing on April 7.
One of the petitioners, NGO Ima Era (“Moms Up” in Hebrew), responded, “We petitioned the Supreme Court about six months ago against Ben-Gvir because his conduct exposed our children to danger and to international legal proceedings.
“Its [the government’s] unanimous approval, without substantive discussion and during wartime, resembles the conduct of dark regimes rather than a democracy. The hearing on the petition will take place on April 7, 2025, and we expect the court to do the right thing: to protect our children and the rule of law.”
