Knesset Opposition Boycott Threat: Attempt to Avert Embarrassment During Prime Minister Modi's Visit

New Delhi: A political confrontation broke out in Israel's Knesset on Monday just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official visit later this week. Opposition parties threatened to boycott a special plenary session Modi is scheduled to address in protest over the decision not to invite Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit.

In response, Speaker Amir Ohana said he had prepared a countermeasure to avoid the optics of a half-empty chamber. The plan is understood to involve inviting former Knesset members to fill the seats of boycotting lawmakers, to give the impression to visiting Modi that the Knesset is in full attendance.

"Don't worry, I assure you that Prime Minister Modi will not speak to a half-empty plenary," Ohana told Ben-Ari. "You'll know what I mean the day after tomorrow at 5:00 PM."

PM Modi is due to visit Israel from February 25 to 26.

The dispute erupted during a Knesset Presidium meeting, where MK Meirav Ben-Ari of the centrist Yesh Atid party asked Ohana whether the Chief Justice had been invited. Ohana replied bluntly: "No. Of course not. He hasn't come four times already. Why would he be invited now?"

Ben-Ari responded that "no Knesset Speaker has ever acted like this".

The exchange escalated into a shouting match soon after Ohana's remarks, with Ben-Ari accusing the coalition of disrespecting the Knesset. Ohana shot back that the opposition would "not harm the foreign relations of the State of Israel".

Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the Chief Justice was invited, and referred to India as "one of the most important countries in the world". "We want to be at the meeting, we need to be at the meeting," Lapid said, adding that internal political considerations should not come at the expense of diplomatic ties with an ally.

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