Sixty-six members of parliament vote in favor of bill while 43 vote against; Netanyahu absent from plenary vote, much to the chagrin of Blue & White officials
Knesset overnight Tuesday approved on second and third reading a bill allowing ministers to give up their positions as members of parliament in order to enable a different member of their party slate to assume the position in their stead.
Sixty-six lawmakers supported the so-called Norwegian Law while 43 opposed the bill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was absent from the plenary vote, much to the chagrin of Blue & White officials.
Sources from Netanyahu’s environment explained that the bill already had the 61-Knesset-member majority necessary to pass on second and third reading even without the premier.
Monday morning, a disagreement arose between the two parties after Likud MK Miki Zohar said that the bill will not go up for final vote unless the parties revisit the coalition agreement between them.
Zohar demanded Blue & White would allow a move that will secure Netanyahu’s tenure as deputy prime minister under Blue & White’s Benny Gantz – even if a court finds him unfit to serve in the position due to his ongoing corruption trial.
The dispute led a senior Blue & White official to issue a statement accusing Likud and Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the bill and called Likud’s wish to meddle in the coalition agreement an “ominous sign.”
Gantz and Netanyahu met at noon to discuss the issue. Shortly after, Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin announced that the Norwegian law would be put to the vote and a meeting would be scheduled for changes in the agreement.
As reported by Ynetnews