Biden’s visit postponed amidst legislative turmoil for Bennett
Jerusalem24– US President Biden will be postponing his planned visit to the Middle East from the end of June to July, according to Ha’aretz.
The Israeli daily reported that the White House informed Israel of the planned delay on Friday.
According to Ha’aretz, certain Israeli officials are now worried that the visit will be canceled completely. The reason for the delay wasn’t immediately clear and the US officials added that the dates remained in flux and could change again.
“A catastrophic outcome” for settlers if forced to live under same military regime as Palestinians
Meanwhile, the Israeli government is facing a vote on legislation that may decide the fate of the fragile coalition, concerning the extension of emergency regulations in the occupied West Bank. The vote has so far been postponed due to a lack of a majority which would secure the votes needed to renew the legislation.
Under the current legislation, Israeli settlers living in the occupied West Bank are subject to Israeli criminal and civil law in contrast to the Israeli military law that applies to Palestinians living in the same area.
Israeli Justice Minister, Gideon Sa’ar told The Times of Israel that if the bill was not passed, Israeli settlers would be subject to the same military legal system as Palestinians, which he has described as “a catastrophic outcome”.
The law was originally drafted after the 1967 six-day war and is an emergency measure that comes up for renewal every five years.
Mansour Abbas toeing the coalition line
It is not yet known how the members of the United Arab List, Ghada Zoabi from Meretz, or Idit Silman who left the coalition leadership, will vote in the Knesset.
Ha’aretz reports that the leader of the United Arab List, Mansour Abbas, is currently trying to rally his party
members to vote in favor of the extension and thus preserve the coalition.
According to the Arabic-speaking Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation, the coalition is considering turning the vote into a vote of no-confidence in the government, in order to persuade them to pass the law.
According to Israeli sources, Sa’ar considers passing the bill a red line without which the current government has no right to continue.
Low confidence among Israelis
According to a poll by the Israeli Democracy Institute conducted in May 2022, 60% of Israelis believe the government will fail before the end of the year.
In the event of a coalition collapse, only 30% of Israelis are prepared to face another election.
The likely successor to Bennett would be Benjamin Netanyahu – who famously had a fractured relationship with former US president Barack Obama, and whose second-in-command was current President Biden.