Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked is scheduled to return from her visit to the United States over the weekend, in time to fight with Ra’am (the United Arab List) over a controversial bill that would require the state to hook up illegally built Bedouin homes to the national electricity grid.
Ra’am MK Waleed Taha, head of the Knesset Interior Committee, intends to bring the bill to a vote on Monday. He made changes to the legislation that Shaked said were still unacceptable, but he intends to try to pass it anyway.
While not an MK, Shaked intends to stop the bill with the support of the opposition, and MKs from Yamina and New Hope.
This is not the first time Shaked has fought with Ra’am. They also clashed over the citizenship bill that would have continued to prevent Palestinians from using marriage to Arab Israelis to obtain Israeli citizenship.
In a sign that more clashes between Ra’am and Yamina are coming, Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas called for progress on diplomatic issues.
“At the beginning, the goal of the government was to advance socioeconomic issues and end the political crisis,” he told interviewer Lucy Aharish on Thursday. “I think that in the future, the government will need to deal with diplomatic issues. There is an opportunity to rethink our direction.”
In an effort to resolve another dispute, New Hope faction chairwoman Sharren Haskel will meet with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) on Sunday. Haskel has threatened to boycott votes in the plenum if Horowitz does not permit her cannabis legalization bills to be advanced.
On another front, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid failed to present the government’s candidate for Jewish Agency chairman by Wednesday night’s deadline. His aides asked the selection committee for more time because he was busy dealing with bringing about the release of the Oaknin couple from Turkey.
The Agency chairmanship selection committee will meet on November 30. Lapid intends to present a candidate by then, who will join the current eight candidates.
A source on the selection committee accused the government of “foot-dragging.”