The Likud is starting to work. MK Yoav Kish, who is expected to receive an upgrade after the elections and is apparently going to be appointed deputy minister or chairman of a committee, placed three significant bills on settlement and law issues on the Knesset table. This was reported in the daily Yisrael Hayom newspaper.

The bill was drafted with the assistance of the Movement for Governance and Democracy and signed by nine other MKs from the Likud faction: a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty in Yehuda and Shomron, a bill to improve the rights of discharged soldiers, and a bill to limit the power of Supreme Court.

The Basic Law of Overcoming, if passed, is expected to severely limit the ability of the Supreme Court and other courts to repeal laws (or sections of law) approved by the Knesset. According to the bill, only the Supreme Court, with all its justices, will be empowered to hear the validity of laws and their conformity with the Basic Laws. In order to disqualify a law enacted by the Knesset, there will have to be a unanimous decision by all Supreme Court justices, who will come to the conclusion that there is a clear contradiction between a law enacted by the Knesset and one of the Basic Laws.

The bill also states that in the event that the Knesset approves a law by a majority of 61 or more MKs, it will be entitled to determine that the law will be immune from judicial review throughout the term of office of the Knesset and until two years have passed since the election of a new Knesset.

It should be noted that the passage of the bill has already been approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation in the previous Knesset, and that the chairman of Ichud Leumi, MK Betzalel Smotrich, has conditioned the entry of the right-wing parties into the government with the approval of the bill.

The proposed law to apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel throughout Yehuda & Shomron is intended to approve and enable the application of the law, jurisdiction, administration and sovereignty of Israel to all areas of settlement in Yehuda & Shomron. The bill states that “The Minister of Justice will be entitled to make regulations with regard to its implementation, including with respect to transitory provisions and provisions regarding the continued validity of regulations, orders, orders, rights and obligations that were in force in Yehuda & Shomron prior to the commencement of this Law.”

The explanatory note to the bill states that “it is proposed that Israel apply its laws and sovereignty over the settlement areas in Yehuda & Shomron, in order to establish their status as an integral part of the State of Israel.” The bill also states that the territory on which sovereignty will be imposed will be determined later on.

Another proposed law to empower persons who serve in the IDF is intended to add to the benefits granted to demobilized soldiers the participation of the state in tuition fees in institutions of higher education and vocational training, according to the bill, the fund’s budget will be NIS 600 million.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)