Opposition MK on Edelstein’s removal: Netanyahu wants yes-men who will do what he says

By Sam Sokol 22 October 2025, 6:23 pm

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Sam 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"

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein’s removal from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee “supposedly because he voted in favor of sovereignty, indicates the true intentions of the Likud movement,” says fellow committee member Moshe Tur-Paz (Yesh Atid).

Likud decided to remove Edelstein from the committee after he supported a West Bank settlement annexation bill boycotted by the party, helping it pass by one vote.

“Netanyahu does not want MKs with independent positions in the Likud. He does not want people, God forbid, who maintain their values… who are not willing to vote in favor of the evasion law,” Tur-Paz tells The Times of Israel.

“He wants yes-men who will do what he says. He is used to that. Unfortunately, Yuli Edelstein, an excellent committee member… has now been dismissed in order to continue the preparation of the evasion law. We will see in his place an MK who will become a yes-man and raise his hand in favor of evasion… This proves where Netanyahu is headed.”