Netanyahu Appoints MK of Moroccan Origin as Israel's Minister in Charge of Atomic Commission

Member of Knesset David Amsalem during a parliamentary session (Knesset spokesman)
Member of Knesset David Amsalem during a parliamentary session (Knesset spokesman)
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Netanyahu Appoints MK of Moroccan Origin as Israel's Minister in Charge of Atomic Commission

Member of Knesset David Amsalem during a parliamentary session (Knesset spokesman)
Member of Knesset David Amsalem during a parliamentary session (Knesset spokesman)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed as member of Knesset David Amsalem, of Moroccan origin, as the Minister in Charge of the Atomic Energy Commission.

The Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1952 and is under the Prime Minister's and his office's authority. It was considered another committee of government work.

However, it became more critical when Israel began building the nuclear reactor in Dimona under the then-director general of the Defense Ministry, Shimon Peres.

The committee is responsible for the Israeli Nuclear Research Center in the Soreq Valley and the Dimona reactor. Its chairman status was elevated to the head of Mossad and Shin Bet.

Officially, the Atomic Energy Commission advises the government on nuclear research and development issues and represents Israel in international institutions, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

However, in reality, it leads Israel's nuclear military activity and is reportedly responsible for Israel's alleged stockpile of atomic weapons.

Amsalem is the son of a family of Moroccan immigrants who arrived in Israel in 1958.

He was born in Jerusalem two years later. Since his early youth, he has been active in the Likud party and tried to be elected to the municipality, but failed. He moved to live in the nearby Maale Adumim settlement.

Amsalem is considered a "firebrand" in the Likud party and is known for his harsh criticism of opponents and his comrades in the coalition and the party.

He even criticized Netanyahu for not including him in the government.

Netanyahu's aides held negotiations with Amsalem and discussed appointing him as Speaker of the Knesset or Minister of Justice.

At that time, he told his supporters who had gathered outside his home that Netanyahu was ungrateful.

Amsalem accused Netanyahu of specifically targeting him because he is a Sephardic Jew. "You don't humiliate me. You don't humiliate us, Sephardim."

Netanyahu has urged his advisers to appease Amsalem. It took three months to convince him to join the government last March. He became the regional cooperation minister, a second minister in the Justice Ministry, and the minister in charge of liaising between the government and the Knesset.



Israel Far-Right Issues Rare Rebuke of Settler Attack on Army

Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)
Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)
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Israel Far-Right Issues Rare Rebuke of Settler Attack on Army

Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)
Israeli settlers carrying weapons during clashes in which Palestinians were attacked in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. (Getty Images/AFP file)

An assault by Israeli settlers on soldiers in the occupied West Bank drew condemnation from across the political spectrum, including an unusual rebuke from far-right ministers who typically support the settlement movement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, considered the two most hardline members of the ruling coalition, called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

The army said dozens of "civilians" attacked its forces on Sunday night at a military base in the central West Bank, vandalizing army vehicles and a security installation.

According to Israeli media, the attackers were settlers who targeted the commander of the military's Binyamin Regional Brigade, calling him a "traitor".

The attack was widely seen as a reprisal for the arrest of six settlers two days earlier.

In that incident, the commander and troops were attacked as they tried to stop settlers entering a closed military zone near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned both attacks, saying "no law-abiding country can tolerate acts of violence and anarchy".

Ben-Gvir was among the last senior figures to react.

"Harming our security forces, security installations and the soldiers who are our children, brothers and defenders, crosses a red line, and must be treated with the utmost severity," he wrote on X.

A lawyer, Ben-Gvir gained a name for himself before entering politics by defending in court several settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.

Smotrich wrote on X: "Violence against (Israeli) soldiers and our beloved police forces and the destruction of property are unacceptable."

- West Bank violence -

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence has surged there since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following Hamas's October 2023 attack.

Since then, Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank have killed at least 947 Palestinians -- many of them militants, but also scores of civilians -- according to Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 35 Israelis, including both civilians and security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to Israeli official figures.

But settler attacks on army positions are rare.

"It was too much, even for the far-right," said Simon Perry, a security expert and associate professor in the criminology department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"The rioters went overboard," he told AFP.

Nimrod Goren, an expert on foreign relations and a veteran commentator on Israeli politics, said the far-right's outrage at the assault was merely "lip service", however.

Violent assaults by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have become common since 2023, without drawing any criticism from the political class, he noted.

"But when soldiers are affected, all of a sudden people are alerted," said Goren, who is chairman of the Israeli foreign policy think tank Mitvim.

- Settlers' eviction drive -

According to the two Israeli experts, the rioters were part of an informal movement known as the hilltop youth, whose goal is to evict Palestinian residents and establish settlements in the West Bank without government approval.

The movement constitutes a fringe, even among the Religious Zionist movement, the ideological backbone of the settlement enterprise.

Several human rights NGOs have denounced the rise in violence committed by the settlers, and their perceived impunity.

Shortly after his appointment in November 2024, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced an end to administrative detention for West Bank settlers, a practice that allows security forces to detain suspects without charge.

Israeli media say the move emboldened extremist settlers and led to a wave of attacks in the Palestinian territory.

On Tuesday, the Israeli press reported that Katz would not bring it back, contrary to the opinion of Israel's Shin Bet security service.

The measure is still in place for Palestinians.

The recent settler violence against army positions in the West Bank even prompted condemnation from leaders within the movement.

"Those who wish to protest must act according to the law and not confront the army," Oded Revivi, a former mayor of the Efrat settlement, and a prominent settler figure, told AFP.

There are around 160 Israeli settlements scattered throughout the West Bank, which the UN considers illegal. Their residents number about 500,000, living among a population of three million Palestinians.