Ben Gvir apologizes to Netanyahu, Bismuth for forcing them to attend Knesset vote

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir pledges to continue voting against the coalition while at the same time apologizing for not offering offsets to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, forcing them to appear for a vote on a critical budget-related bill last week.

Due to Ben Gvir’s decision to vote against the bill, Netanyahu was forced to leave the hospital less than two days after undergoing prostate surgery to cast his vote while Bismuth had to stop the shiva — seven-day mourning period — for his late mother.

“We will continue to vote according to our principles until a solution is found regarding preventing the closure of police stations, civil defense squads, and the cuts in the salaries of police officers, prison guards, and all of Israel’s national security forces,” Ben Gvir says in a statement.

Ben Gvir has been voting against the coalition over his demand for a larger budget for the police force, which he oversees as national security minister.

“At the same time, I did some soul-searching on shabbat and realized that I was wrong when I saw the prime minister and Boaz in the plenum and we did not offset them,” he continues.

“I apologize to the prime minister and my friend Boaz Bismuth. From now on, we will offset the prime minister until he fully recovers, God willing.”

In a statement last Tuesday evening, Likud stated that it had “requested that MK Boaz Bismuth be offset against an Otzma Yehudit MK and was answered negatively.”

The process of giving the coalition a pass by allowing it to retain the same majority margin via an offset for absent government lawmakers is a commonplace gesture, but not a requirement, in the Knesset, frequently arranged between the coalition and opposition for lawmakers who are ill or have pressing social engagements, family commitments, and so on.