Likud MK booted from Knesset panel after voting against extending reservist call-ups
MK Amit Halevi becomes second lawmaker from ruling party to be removed from key committee as dissent within coalition mounts amid strain on reservists 19 months into war
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Coalition leaders kicked Likud MK Amit Halevi off the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday after he voted against their measure to extend the government’s ability to issue emergency call-up orders for IDF reservists.
The measure fell last week before the coalition managed to regroup and advance it through subsequent votes. It can still be finalized by midnight Thursday.
Meanwhile, Halevi has been replaced on the committee by coalition whip and fellow Likud MK Ofir Katz.
In a statement, Halevi said that it was not he who was dismissed, but rather “the voice of thousands of officers and soldiers who are willing to sacrifice, who are dedicated to the war but only for the sake of a complete victory.”
“Unfortunately, the new ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ plan may extract a terrible price from us, but according to this plan, aid will continue to reach Hamas, it will continue to control a large area and population, and thus the enemy will not be defeated,” he said.
“After 20 months of operational failure at a huge bloody cost, it is my responsibility and that of every Knesset member to ensure that the IDF has learned its lessons before voting in favor of sending soldiers into battle,” Halevi insisted — pledging that as long as he remains in the Knesset, “I will fulfill my duties without fear.”
Tens of thousands of IDF soldiers were called up at the beginning of the month ahead of an expanded ground operation in Gaza, which, according to Israeli officials, would see the IDF “conquer” Gaza, raze the vast majority of buildings and retain the territory for the foreseeable future; attack Hamas and prevent it from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies; and move Palestinians from Gaza’s north to its south.
Halevi is not the first Likud MK to be removed from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for opposing the coalition on an enlistment-related issue.
Last November, Ofir Katz announced MK Dan Illouz’s replacement due to his “statements regarding coalition discipline and his conduct in recent days” — a reference to his public opposition to the coalition-supported Daycare Bill, which aimed to guarantee that the children of ultra-Orthodox men who are obligated to perform military service, but have not done so, would continue to be eligible for state-funded daycare subsidies.
Halevi’s protest came amid a growing wave of criticism from within the reserve forces over the continued war in Gaza and the failure to return the remaining 59 hostages held there by terror groups. The war started on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led an invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 abducted as hostages to Gaza.
There have been repeated calls from groups of reservists to not turn up for duty over the past two years, mostly as a protest against the government’s planned judicial overhaul, seen as undermining democracy, and against the renewed fighting in Gaza, which critics say is a political move that will endanger the lives of the remaining hostages.
There is also mounting discontent at the number of days reservists have been asked to serve since the start of the Gaza war, with some called up for hundreds of days. This has been exacerbated by government efforts to legislate an exemption for tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox youths from the draft.
Last month, the IDF said it would take strong action against reservists who refuse to serve.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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