Smotrich
SmotrichFlash 90

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to vote in favor of the regulation of the town of Mevo’ot Yericho in the Jordan Valley Sunday despite the opposition of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

On Thursday, Mandelblit issued an opinion stating that Netanyahu's plan to normalize Mevo'ot Yericho would violate Supreme Court rulings which limit the powers of a lame-duck government during election season.

In response, Minister Smotrich wrote on Twitter: "I urge the prime minister to raise the decision to vote despite the attorney general's opposition. There is a limit to our lack of governance. This is exactly where the border should be."

In a detailed post on the issue, Smotrich explained that the Attorney General's opinion on this issue is incorrect for 3 reasons: "According to the Local Establishment Procedure (Article 6), a decision such as the one adopted today is not final, it is only the beginning of a professional process at the end of which a final decision must be made, without which the initial decision (made today) is not complete. In light of this, this is not the final word and thus there is nothing preventing making the decision," Smotrich noted.

Smotrich added that this is the product of government work that started well before the elections, "work started by a regulation committee chaired by Dr. Haya Zandberg, which was formed following our coalition demand with the previous government."

He further stated that the town "is located in the Jordan Valley, an area that even the Blue and White Party claims on every stage will forever remain under Israeli sovereignty."