The New Hope party announced Sunday morning that its ministers will vote today at the cabinet meeting in favor of the Citizenship Law (Prohibition of Family Reunification) and the rejection of the appeals filed on the subject over the decisions of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.
The Blue and White Party also decided to support the Citizenship Law and the party stated that it will not allow MKs to break party discipline on the vote "Blue and White supports the Citizenship Law, which is an important security law, in accordance with the wording formulated by Interior Ministry or through another compromise. Blue and White opposes freedom of vote - and if coalition discipline is not maintained, it will consider its response at a later time."
Last night, Meretz chairman and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz threatened the integrity of the coalition due to Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked's intention to pass the Citizenship Law with the votes of Opposition MKs.
"This is a racist law that discriminates against the Arab citizens of Israel and has no place in a democratic state. Ayelet Shaked is embarking on a very dangerous path, to pass an undemocratic and racist law like the Citizenship Law to do so through votes from the Opposition, It is a slippery slope. Our response will be sharp and painful and there will be a price,"
The Citizenship Law has been in force by virtue of a temporary provision that has been extended every year since 2003, when it was enacted against the background of the Second Intifada. Its purpose is to impose restrictions on the granting of citizenship or residence permits in Israel to Palestinian Arabs who have married Israelis, as well as to citizens of Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq who wish to receive citizenship or residency status in the context of family reunification.
The law was supposed to receive Knesset approval by July 6, 2021, but it expired after no majority was reached to support it. It was recently passed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, but it is unclear if it will receive the majority in the Knesset needed to become law.