Yesh Atid opposition backfires as Religious Zionist MK exposes contradiction in election-season political attack”
MK Tzvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionist Party embarrassed Yesh Atid faction chairwoman MK Merav Ben Ari during a joint Kan Reshet Bet interview after revealing that a bill she opposed closely matched legislation she had previously submitted herself.
The exchange began when Ben Ari criticized a proposal granting tax benefits to residents of Judea and Samaria. She argued that advancing the bill now was part of the Religious Zionist Party’s election campaign and questioned why residents of Judea and Samaria should receive such benefits.
Sukkot, who is sponsoring the current bill, asked whether she would support the proposal. When Ben Ari repeatedly opposed it, he revealed that the text was nearly identical to a bill she introduced at the start of the Knesset term.
He added that Ben Ari’s earlier bill had itself been based on legislation originally submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Ben Ari attempted to argue that changes had been made in the current version, but Sukkot pressed the point and offered a live workaround.
He proposed bringing Ben Ari’s original bill to a vote instead and challenged Yesh Atid to support it.
The clash exposed a sharp contradiction in Ben Ari’s position and handed Sukkot a political victory during a heated debate over Judea and Samaria benefits ahead of the upcoming elections.
