Prime Minister Naftali Bennett blasted the Opposition and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, following the government’s failure to pass an extension to the Citizenship Law in the Knesset early Tuesday morning.
Speaking out Tuesday afternoon, Bennett accused the Opposition of “directly hurting Israel’s security, out of a sense of bitterness and despair.”
Bennett singled out Netanyahu and rogue Yamina Mk Amichai Chikli, who voted against the bill, for derision, comparing them to Joint Arab List MK and former Arafat adviser Ahmed Tibi.
“Everyone who voted against the Citizenship Law, from Bibi to Tibi to Chikli, chose petty politics over the good of the citizens of Israel, and they will need to give an accounting of their actions to the public for a good long time.”
Coalition MK Yair Golan (Meretz) said that the government would try to pass the bill again, based on a compromise deal.
“We will go back and try to pass the Citizenship Law again. This is a good and proper law.”
“The new government has put together a number of agreements regarding immigration.”
The bill, which would extend an emergency regulation limiting the ability of Palestinian Authority residents to claim Israeli citizenship or residency via family reunification, was narrowly defeated early Tuesday morning when the Knesset voted 59-59 to reject the proposal.
Later on Tuesday, Issawi Freij (Meretz), the minister for regional cooperation, claimed that Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) had agreed to grant residency permits to thousands of Arab families in exchange for support for the Citizenship Law.