The Israeli Knesset General Assembly yesterday approved the government’s decision to transfer responsibility for the Land Authority to the extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Wafa news agency reported.
The decision was approved following a 55-51 member vote.
This gives Ben-Gvir the responsibility to demolish homes in the Arab community within Israel under the pretext that they are “unlicensed”. Similar enforcement has never been applied within Jewish communities.
The powers previously fell under the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich.
The approval came after the Haredi parties agreed to support the transfer of powers to Ben-Gvir, in exchange for the far-right minister agreeing to support a law that allows content to be unavailable on mobile phones, as part of a ‘Kosher cellphone bill’, which would see mobile phone providers block all mainstream radio stations, theatres, emotional support helplines and many other numbers deemed immoral by the Haredi community’s spiritual leaders.
The bill is expected to affect some 600,000 users.
Read: Israeli defence minister accuses Ben-Gvir of trying to ‘blow up’ Middle East over Al-Aqsa status quo