25th Knesset passes first law, making it harder for MKs to break from their factions

A week into the incoming coalition’s legislative blitz and days before it is expected to announce the formation of a government, lawmakers officially pass the 25th Knesset’s first law, which will make it harder for rebel lawmakers to peel off from their factions.

The change removes a provision that enables four MKs from any faction to split off into a separate faction without suffering any political sanctions. Now, a group must constitute at least a third of a faction to split off.

The 32-member Likud faction pushed the bill to shut down the threat of disgruntled lawmakers splintering off, or using the potential of doing so as leverage for various demands.

The outgoing coalition had in 2021 lowered the threshold to four MKs from the previous seven in ultimately futile hopes of peeling off defectors from Likud.

A minimum of 11 MKs would now need to leave Likud as a group if they wished to do so without suffering severe penalties.

The bill is the first of four rushed policy points finalized by the incoming coalition. Netanyahu’s coalition partners have set the other three — combined into two bills — as preconditions for announcing the formation of a government by Wednesday’s deadline.