Kreuzer: High Court petition, 'no loyalty' bill coming

Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kreuzer attacked Yesh! party leader Gadi Eisenkot and the prospect of a unity government in remarks to Srugim during the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset on Tuesday. Kreuzer made clear his party will not join any government that is not fully right-wing, and announced plans to petition the High Court against the election results.

"No, what is a… a unity government is a paralysis government," Kreuzer said when asked whether Otzma Yehudit would support a unity coalition. He went after Eisenkot's security positions, claiming: "Gadi himself said he thinks it's wrong to eliminate Khamenei, wrong to start the fight against Iran, that we can live with a nuclear Iran—these are things he said."

Kreuzer continued his criticism of the former IDF chief of staff: "He didn't want to enter the Philadelphi Corridor, didn't want to decide the outcome in Rafah. What kind of government would that be? It would be a paralysis government." The claims reflect Kreuzer's characterisation of Eisenkot's stated positions.

He made clear his party will not compromise on the government's composition: "And therefore only a full, full right-wing government will we be part of. A government that doesn't put security and Jewish identity at the top of its priorities, we certainly won't take part in it."

Alongside the attack on Eisenkot, Kreuzer addressed the swearing-in of Arab MKs. "So first of all, great excitement, a festive day. But alongside that joy there's also great anguish in the heart, great sorrow that 19 terror supporters are going to be sworn in here, not to the State of Israel," he said.

Kreuzer claimed the Arab MKs did not condemn Hamas, adding: "And to my great sorrow, the greater anguish is that there are good Zionist Jews here, a former chief of staff, who thinks it's legitimate to form a government with them."

During the conversation with Srugim, Kreuzer announced he intends to table a new bill called "no loyalty, no citizenship." According to him, "Whoever is not loyal to the State of Israel, whoever cannot declare 'I am loyal to the State of Israel as the Jewish and democratic state,' certainly cannot take part in the democratic process."

Kreuzer went on to raise claims regarding foreign funding of the elections and accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of blocking an investigation into the matter. "And to my great sorrow, not only does the Shin Bet chief say he wants to investigate, but we weren't surprised to see Gali Baharav-Miara immediately blocking that investigation and not letting the Shin Bet and police investigate who funnelled money, who funded and who pushed," he said. The claims were not verified during the conversation.

Toward the end, Kreuzer made clear that alongside advancing legislation, his party intends to act in the legal arena as well: "And what we're doing, as I said, we'll start submitting bills in the hope of legislating them and preventing terror supporters from entering, and we'll also petition, as the minister said, to the High Court on the election results."

Kreuzer summed up by saying Otzma Yehudit enters the new Knesset with the intention of continuing its parliamentary work and advancing its policy.