From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 6, 2025
Likud’s Afef Abed sworn in as MK to replace former defense minister Gallant
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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"
The Likud party’s Afef Abed is sworn in as a member of Knesset, replacing former defense minister Yoav Gallant, who resigned last week.
Abed, a representative of the Druze minority, received the 44th spot on the Likud list in the 2022 Knesset election. He is the only Druze lawmaker in the governing coalition.
According to the Kan public broadcaster’s Arabic-language service, the 50-year-old resident of the northern village of Yarka has been a Likud member for 20 years and was previously a deputy head of the party’s youth wing.
Kan also reports that Abed is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abed’s replacement of Gallant has sparked speculation in some corners that passing a bill enshrining ultra-Orthodox military exemptions would now be easier, because Gallant was one of the coalition’s major opponents of the measure.
The Times of Israel Community.