The Knesset passed a controversial citizenship law to replace a temporary order regulating the status and residency of Palestinian spouses of Arab Israelis in a tense session Thursday night.
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The legislation, which prevents Palestinians from acquiring Israeli citizenship through family reunification, has been a contentious issue for coalition members. Both the Meretz and Ra'am parties oppose the law, which garnered the support of 45 lawmakers. Fifteen Knesset members voted against the bill in the third and final Knesset reading.
Commenting on the passage of the law, Shaked, who introduced the law, said, "As I promised, the citizenship law was passed this evening at the Knesset …. . This is a Zionist, nationalist security law of the highest order, which could not be neglected purely for petty politics. The combination of coalition and opposition forces led to an important result for state security and the fortification [of Israel] as a Jewish state. I thank all the Knesset members who acted responsibly and voted in favor of the law."
The Meretz party, which belongs to the coalition, voiced significant opposition to the bill in an effort to prevent a vote. A majority of these complaints were rejected.
The leader of the Islamist Ra'am party Mansour Abbas said in a statement, "When Ra'am wants to decide whether to topple the government of buy time and try to invest further effort and change policies, to bring about decisions and laws and a new policy for the benefit of Arab society, we will decide based on a general consideration beyond one point. There is no doubt this law is one that deserves to topple governments."
In a statement, the Meretz party said, "Following an uncompromising struggle that the Meretz party waged against the citizenship law since the establishment of the government, and even more so over the last week, the law passed with opposition support despite the Meretz faction's vote against it. The citizenship law is a temporary provision that is extended from time to time. Immediately after the law was passed, the Meretz faction submitted a bill ordering it rescinded."
Religious Zionism Party MK Simcha Rothman hailed the law's passage, saying, "Israel's defensive shield will be bolstered significantly today, bolstered in such a way that would never have happened if on that night, seven months ago, we would have given up or relinquished our demand for quotas and transparency as a condition for support for the extension of the temporary order. The State of Israel is a Jewish state, and so it shall remain."
In a statement, the Religious Zionism Party said, "Following the criticism voiced against the right-wing parties for throwing out the law half a year ago, this evening, it was made clear that the right-wing parties made the right and Zionist decision that prevented a law that would have exacerbated the situation and succeeded in passing a much better law that bolsters the State of Israel's Zionist and Jewish identity."
Religious Zionism Party leader Bezalel Smotrich said, "Today, we took an important step and we bolstered the State of Israel as a Jewish state through the updated citizenship law. With professionalism and determination, we introduced the target clause and passed the transparency and quota clauses that will prevent the loophole in the law that allows for the family reunification of thousands of Palestinians and brings them in through the back door thanks to a crawling return to the State of Israel."
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid) admitted: "I am not at ease with the law and its passage, but we face a complex security reality in a complicated region, and with such a reality, we must live and sometimes make unpleasant decisions as is happening now."
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