Incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed to a coalition deal that could end a ban on politicians who incite racism or reject Israel as Jewish and a democratic state from serving in parliament, Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit said Thursday.
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News came several hours after Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party said it reached a deal with Likud on a framework for their coalition deal, and a day after Netanyahu announced that he secured all the votes necessary to form the next government.
The agreement would see a potential amendment to Basic Law: The Knesset that currently prohibits a parliament campaign "should there be explicitly or implicitly in the goal or actions of the slate, or the actions of the person, including his expressions… incitement to racism."
The clause was first introduced in 1985 to block the racist Kach party, led by extremist Rabbi Meir Kahana of whom Ben-Gvir is a disciple, from returning to parliament. The current move appears to be a bid to allow Ben Gvir's barred far-right colleagues to run.
Netanyahu reportedly agreed to the deal as part of last-minute coalition negotiations which led to his announcement of forming a government just minutes before his deadline to do so Wednesday night, a development that will likely have implications with Israel's more liberal partners like the United States and many in Europe.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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