JERUSALEM (AP) — Backers of a bill calling for a parliamentary investigation of Israeli human rights groups say they are pressing forward with the initiative despite opposition from the prime minister.
The contentious bill comes on the heels of a law passed last week to punish local people who call for boycotts of West Bank settlements. Critics say the bills are undemocratic.
At Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the boycott bill was necessary to battle “attempts to delegitimize” Israel. But he said he would oppose the new legislation to investigate rights groups.
A nationalist party led by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is behind the new bill. Lieberman criticized Netanyahu for his opposition and said the groups in question aided terrorism.
