Report: Smotrich plans to temporarily resign from gov’t in order to return to Knesset

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his far-right Religious Zionism party, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 20, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his far-right Religious Zionism party, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 20, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Haaretz reports that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich plans to temporarily resign from his cabinet post on Saturday night for 48 hours.

The resignation is required for Smotrich to return to the Knesset. Smotrich had left the Knesset as part of the Norwegian Law, which allows ministers to resign for the next party member on their list to serve in the Knesset instead of them while they serve in the cabinet.

Smotrich wants to return to the Knesset to boot a member of the fellow far-right Otzma Yehudit party, MK Yitzhak Kroizer.

Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party and Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party ran on a joint list in the previous election.

Last week, Otzma Yehudit resigned from the government in protest of the hostage deal.

One of its ministers, Amichai Eliyahu, decided to return to the Knesset, leading Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot to lose his seat.

To restore the balance of power with Otzma Yehudit and to provide the coalition with an extra vote in the Knesset, Smotrich has decided to temporarily resign and return to parliament.

He will resume his cabinet posts after the required 48-hour period wait period concludes.

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