'Short-term' resignation in Israeli cabinet

In his petition, Smotrich noted that he was resigning from his government post to return to and serve as a member of the Knesset, and that he would reclaim his government duties upon returning to the Knesset.

Israel's state broadcaster Kan reported that the resignation of Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, stemmed from a dispute with Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the other far-right coalition partner, Otzma Yehudit.

A statement from the Religious Zionism Party indicated that Ben-Gvir had violated agreements made with Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he had run in a joint electoral list in the 2022 elections before later splitting.

CRISIS BETWEEN COALITION PARTNERS

Under the "Norwegian Law" in effect in Israel, a member of parliament who takes a ministerial seat can resign from their parliamentary seat and transfer it to the next person on their party's electoral list who did not win a seat.

According to the agreement, Ben-Gvir, who had resigned following the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in Gaza on January 19 and returned to his cabinet post when Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza, was supposed to resign from the Knesset. This would have paved the way for Zvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionism Party, whose parliamentary membership had previously lapsed, to return to the Knesset.

Despite this, Ben-Gvir refused to resign from the Knesset to avoid losing political power, while setting the appointment of his party member Zvika Fogel as Minister of Intelligence as a condition for negotiation. Consequently, Finance Minister Smotrich, who is not a member of parliament, resigned to return to the Knesset and strip the parliamentary seat of Kroizer, a member of the Otzma Yehudit party.

In a post on his X account, Sukkot pointed out that it was wrong to demand a new ministry in exchange for his return to parliament, and called on the Otzma Yehudit party to honor its commitments.

A statement from the Otzma Yehudit party said, "We will not engage in unnecessary arguments within the coalition."

News Source: AA