Three opposition proposals to end military Government in the Arab-populated areas of Israel were defeated in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, last night after Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion made a forceful speech against the idea.
The prime Minister warned that Israel’s “extraordinary situation” required continuance of the military government to prevent civil disturbances and mass infiltrations, He declared that relaxations in such government had been made and that more would be made.
The right-wing Herut, the General Zionists and the Communists introduced the bills to end military government. The Herut bill called for abolition of the regulations within six months, the General Zionists set abolition within four months and the Communists wanted it even earlier.
The vote against the opposition proposals was 42 to 24 with 27 abstentions, Mapai received the support of Agudat Israel and several Mizrachi deputies. Moshe Shapiro, Minister of the Interior, was the only non-Mapai Cabinet members at the Government table to support Mapai. The other non-Mapai Cabinet members abstained.
In his speech the Prime Minister asserted that equal rights meant equal duties and that the Government could not ask Israel’s Arabs to serve in the military forces for understandable reasons. He said military rule could not be avoided as long as the neighboring Arab rulers continued to incite their peoples against Israel and the Arab minority in Israel’s border areas remained in contact with the populace of enemy states.
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