Netanyahu said to freeze minister’s money-saving resignation amid Likud MK threats
At least 5 lawmakers in PM’s party reportedly warn they’ll vote no on Amichai Chikli keeping Diaspora portfolio if he drops social equality role, as move puts others’ seats at risk

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly frozen the intended resignation of Likud lawmaker Amichai Chikli from his post as social equality minister after party members opposed the move, which is aimed at limiting spending on what is widely seen as an excessive number of government offices.
Netanyahu ordered Chikli to remain in place amid threats from members of his party to disrupt the maneuver’s approval in the Knesset, Hebrew media outlets reported Tuesday.
The continued operation of some ministries has come under intense scrutiny since the outbreak of war following the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group’s shock onslaught three months ago and the toll the conflict is having on government spending.
Chikli said Monday he would exit the Social Equality Ministry but continue to serve as Diaspora affairs minister, while also returning to the Knesset in a move that would force one of the Likud party’s extra “Norwegian” lawmakers to resign.
An expansion of the so-called Norwegian Law last January allowed for a greater number of ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign their Knesset seat when they join the cabinet, with their positions as MKs taken up by other members of their parties.
Likud MKs notified Netanyahu that if Chikli resigned from the Social Equality Ministry and returned to the Knesset, they would not approve the necessary formality of reappointing him as Diaspora affairs minister so that he could continue in that role.
At least five Likud lawmakers joined the move, the Kan public broadcaster reported. They also warned Chikli of their intentions.

Netanyahu was said in media reports to have been pushing other Likud ministers to follow Chikli in returning to the Knesset amid an effort by the prime minister to fill benches with loyal members as he faces increasing unrest within the party ranks. He is also reportedly seeking a display of government thriftiness ahead of the coming budget vote. Each minister who returns to the Knesset would save the government about NIS 1.9 million ($507,000) in annual expenses.
Such ministerial resignations would threaten the positions of at least six Likud lawmakers who entered the Knesset under the Norwegian law, namely Sasson Guetta, Keti Shitrit, Moshe Passal, Dan Illouz, Amit Halevi, and Tsega Melaku. Had Chikli resigned, Guetta would be the first to go.
No matter what happens, the Social Equality Ministry is expected to remain open, with Likud Minister May Golan taking over at the helm while her women’s advancement office — which was established for her following the government’s formation — will be folded into it.
Opposition Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak dismissed Chikli’s offer to resign as “bluffing the public” in a Monday post to X, formerly Twitter.
The supplementary budget for 2023 to cover the costs of the ongoing fighting in Gaza, which erupted on October 7 when some 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed the border with Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping another 240, has faced criticism for allocating funding to government ministries and projects not connected to the war effort.
“On the eve of the upcoming budget year and with the understanding that we are facing tremendous economic challenges, I believe it’s necessary to make adjustments to the structure of the government ministries,” Chikli wrote in a letter to Netanyahu on Monday, according to a Channel 12 news report.
“As such, I am relinquishing my position as social equality minister, and in addition, I am requesting to return to renew my term as a member of the Knesset in order to reduce further costs,” he added in the letter.
Two other Likud members have stepped down from their ministerial posts since October 7 and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, which is aimed at destroying Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and returning the hostages.
Likud’s Galit Distel-Atbaryan resigned as public diplomacy minister days into the ongoing war, acknowledging that her newly created ministry had been unnecessary, powerless, and a “waste of public money.” She has since said that she has “burning anger” against the prime minister for his part in the failures that led to the October 7 massacres, despite having made a name for herself as a right-wing commentator and Netanyahu loyalist.
In late October, Religious Zionism’s Michal Woldiger announced that she was resigning as deputy finance minister in order to divert her office’s budget and resources to assist in the war against Hamas, and to free up her own time to visit and aid those traumatized by the October 7 atrocities and strengthen “societal resilience.”