The controversial plan proposed by Israeli minister Bezalel Ben-Gvir to form a national guard has sparked strong opposition from civil rights groups and other politicians.
Ben-Gvir’s proposal would involve creating a new armed force of around two thousand service members who would answer directly to him, and be deployed across the country to fight crime, terrorism, and strengthen governance. The proposed force has caused alarm among critics who fear that it could be used against anti-government demonstrators or the Palestinian and Arab populations.
The budget for the new project is about $276 million and the money will come cutting up to 1.5 percent of the budgets of all other ministries. Opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed the cuts in health, education, and security budgets to allocate money to what he’s called Ben-Gvir’s “private army”.
Saying quote “the priorities of the government are ridiculous and despicable. The only thing that keeps it busy is running over democracy and promoting extreme fantasies of delusional people.”
The vote for this plan comes after Ben-Gvir threatened prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with resignation if he delayed judicial reforms in light of months of protest by citizens.
