The controversial citizenship bills that would tighten immigration controls and make it harder for Palestinians who marry Arab-Israelis to receive citizenship is expected to pass into law in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.
The Knesset House Committee united three versions of the bill, sponsored by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina), Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman and Likud MK Avi Dichter.
The bill is supported by coalition parties from the Right and Center and right-wing opposition parties and strongly opposed by Meretz and the Arab parties
Meretz MKs submitted more than 50,000 amendments in an attempt to at least delay the bill’s passage until after the Knesset disperses for its spring recess on Wednesday night and returns on May 9.
“We will do everything to defer this evil and discriminatory bill and defeat it,” Meretz MK Mossi Raz said.
At a stormy meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, Ra’am (United Arab List) faction head Waleed Taha volunteered to speak for 36 straight hours against the bill, which he called racist and anti-democratic.
But Rothman said the bill was necessary to maintain Israeli security and his associates said it would pass without a problem.