Analysis Debunks Claim Ra'am Party Caused Collapse of West Bank Law

A recent analysis refutes the claim that the Arab party Ra'am was responsible for the failure to extend the Judea and Samaria Regulations in June 2022, which some argue led to the collapse of the Bennett-Lapid government. The proposal to extend the regulations, which provide the legal basis for applying Israeli law to Israelis in the West Bank, was defeated by a margin of six votes, 58 to 52. The analysis highlights that only one Ra'am member voted against the extension, while the other three were absent. The second dissenting vote from within the coalition came from a Meretz party member, not Ra'am.

The article argues that the opposition, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, was primarily responsible for voting down the legislation as a parliamentary tactic to destabilize the government, despite generally supporting such laws. Furthermore, the ruling coalition had already lost its majority two months prior to the vote due to the departure of MK Idit Silman from Yamina, making the government inherently fragile.

The analysis also points out that the failure to extend the regulations did not create a legal vacuum. The dissolution of the Knesset, which occurred shortly after the vote, automatically extended the regulations under Basic Law: The Knesset, and they were subsequently extended for another five years by the 25th Knesset in January 2023. The article concludes that attributing the failure solely to Ra'am oversimplifies a complex political situation driven by opposition strategy and the coalition's pre-existing lack of a majority.