Religious Zionism MK set to lose his Knesset seat says he supports party’s decision to stay in government

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"

MK Zvi Sukkot at a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
MK Zvi Sukkot at a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Following the far right Otzma Yehudit party’s resignation from the coalition, Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot, who is set to be forced out of the Knesset under the Norwegian Law, supports his party’s decision to remain part of the government.

The law allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign, with their Knesset seats filled by members of their parties.

Sukkot occupies the lowest spot on the joint slate on which Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit ran in the 2022 Knesset election. With Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu reclaiming his Knesset seat, that means that Sukkot will no longer be a lawmaker.

“In 48 hours I will probably finish my mission as a member of Knesset for the time being,” Sukkot declares. “From a place free from political interests, I want to support my party chairman in his decision to remain in the government in exchange for continuing the war until the enemy is defeated and a crushing victory is achieved.”

Netanyahu was “forced” by US President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump “to agree to this terrible deal.”

But if his party withdrew and the government were to fall, the next government would “return Israel to October 6,” he argues.

“The outline talks about a second phase of the deal that would include Israel’s complete and final withdrawal from Gaza and, in turn, the return of Hamas rule. I have no doubt that if we were to dissolve the government now, that would be where it would go, and of course with the full backing of the heads of the security establishment,” he says.

“Personally, I am convinced that the decision to remain in the government under the conditions we set was the right one.”

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