Ultra-orthodox factions in the government prevented at the last minute the move to transfer the Land Authority to his office. The move, which the ultra-Orthodox prevented before it reached the approval of the Knesset plenum, was promised to Laban Gabir as part of the coalition negotiations.
"It will harm the enforcement efforts in the Negev," said those around Otzma Yehudit. The decision also provoked professional opposition from the planning and construction officials at the Ministry of the Interior, who believe it is right to leave the authority in the Finance Ministry. The ultra- orthodox factions deny any deal with the Arabs, and claim that they are opposed to the proposal that Ben Gabir is pushing a different law. The proposal is that the kosher cell phone reform of former minister Yoaz Handel, which was designed to combat the power of the Rabbinical Committee for Communications Affairs, will be repealed. According to this proposal, the cellular companies will be able to notify customers retrospectively that they cannot port the number from one company to another - which may also cause a price increase.