MK Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit) commented in an interview published on Tuesday on his decision to break from his party's official stance and vote in favor of the “Trapped Profits Bill”, due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's medical condition.
Otzma Yehudit’s refusal to support the law resulted in Netanyahu being forced to leave the hospital and come to the Knesset to attend the vote, while MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud) had to leave the shiva for his mother in order to vote and ensure the legislation passed.
Cohen claimed that the Prime Minister's doctors instructed him to attend the Knesset plenum in a wheelchair.
"I have sources who told me this, who saw it. According to the directive, he was supposed to come in a wheelchair, he was not allowed to walk because he had an open wound," Cohen said in an interview with Ynet.
"This is a public relations attack, it would have been made public the next day in Iran in millions of copies, and in Syria and Lebanon. So yes, I told the minister, who is the head of my faction and whom I respect greatly, that in my opinion, this is a mistake. Above all else, we are human beings."
When asked where he made these comments to Ben Gvir, Cohen replied. "Face to face, I prefer to keep the conversation private. I conveyed the message to him, and had to make a decision at that moment. A decision that, first and foremost, showed leadership, and secondly was Zionist, patriotic, and humane. If the law had not passed, it would have led to a snowball effect that would have brought down the government. In the end, it's 10 billion shekels, a significant amount, especially with the cuts in the budget due to the war."
On the decision of his party leader, Itamar Ben Gvir, to oppose the law, Cohen said: "I told him (Ben Gvir) that in my opinion this is a mistake, because if there is a person mourning for his mother, I won't bring him in to vote."
When asked about the political implications of the move, Cohen replied, "Do you understand the implications of leaving one’s home on October 7, leaving a wife and children behind, thinking you are going to die? There is nothing to fear, that’s how I was raised at home. On October 7, three of my family members went out to fight. Me, my cousin Itamar, and my uncle A, who is a member of the security forces. That’s how we were raised."