B’tselem’s participation in an anti-Israel effort at the UN was the last straw for Netanyahu, who is determined to put an end to national service opportunities with the anti-IDF organization.
Upon the start of the Knesset winter session, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will act to amend the national service law so that it will no longer be possible to do national service with the B’Tselem organization, the Israel Government Press Office (GPO) announced Saturday night.
Netanyahu discussed the issue with Member of Knesset David Bitan, the government coalition chairman.
The prime minister had previously contacted the attorney general on the matter, who said that the law needs to be amended, which Netanyahu intends to do.
The GPO announcement came after left-wing Israeli organizations “Peace Now” and “B’Tselem” on Friday joined harsh criticism of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria at a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
The meeting, called under the banner “Illegal Israeli Settlements: Obstacles to Peace and the Two-State Solution,” was formally requested by UN members Malaysia, Venezuela, Senegal, Egypt and Angola on behalf of the Palestinians, who hold observer status.
The “settlements” refer to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Hagai El-Ad, executive director of B’Tselem, said in the meeting that “with every breath the Palestinians take they are breathing an occupation. Israel cannot call itself a democracy while occupying another people.”
El-Ad called on the Security Council to take action against Israel, citing unsubstantiated claims by enemies of the Jewish state that Israeli security forces mistreat Palestinian civilians.
Peace Now representative Lara Friedman claimed that “Israeli policy in the settlements is ending the chance for peace,” but she made no accusation regarding incitement by the Palestinian Authority to terror.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon slammed the meeting as anti-Israeli and accused the two NGOs of providing “moral cover for anti-Israel activities at the United Nations.”
“Just two days after anti-Israel forces approved a resolution intending to sever the historical bond between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, Israeli organizations chose to slander and besmirch Israel’s good name at an event organized by the Palestinian delegation. We will continue to fight and tell the truth about Israel despite the attempts to spread lies about us,” Danon stated.
By: World Israel News Staff
With files from i24news