Israel Matzav

Creeping annexation?

Israel's Right is attempting to apply Israeli law to Judea and Samaria law by law, in what is ultimately an attempt to bring about their annexation, according to MK Uri Ariel (National Union). In the first such instance, a law passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday night which would allow museums located in Judea and Samaria to apply for government funding for the first time. The vote wasn't even close: 51-9 in favor.

The move comes amid failed attempts by right-wing politicians to generate legislative and governmental support to fully annex Judea and Samaria, which is under military rule. As such, Israeli law does not fully apply there.

In the absence of such support, Ariel told The Jerusalem Post that he had come to believe that it could be better to advance the matter in small stages.

To initiate the process, he asked the Knesset on Wednesday to approve a preliminary bill that would allow museums in the settlements to apply for government funding.

It passed on a preliminary reading, by 51 to 9 votes. To become law, the bill must now go through a number of legislative hoops, including a vote by the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee. It must also pass three readings in the Knesset plenum.

During a brief speech before the Knesset, Ariel said, “I’m starting a project to examine legislations that do not apply to Israeli residents in Judea and Samaria.”

Every week, he said a legislator would propose an amendment to existing laws, so that one by one, they would be applicable in Judea and Samaria.

In this way, he said, he hoped to end the “discrimination” against the residents of Judea and Samaria. He later told the Post that he viewed his initiative as a “step toward annexing Judea and Samaria.”

So will the Obama administration protest every time one of these bills passes a reading in the Knesset? They'll have to employ someone full time just to keep track of them. Heh.

The picture at the top is the entrance of to the museum at Gush Etzion (it looks like an artist's rendition), which is much bigger and nicer than I remember it.

Labels: Judea and Samaria, Uri Ariel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:33 AM