by Gil Hoffman
Sa'ar turned down Likud's offer for first place in PM rotation • New Hope and Yesh Atid negotiating teams will meet to form a unity government.
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Yamina leader Naftali Bennett announces that he will form a unity government with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid., May 30, 2021.
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
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Yamina leader
Naftali Bennett delivered his long-awaited announcement on Sunday that
he would join a government with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and seek to
replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he accused of leading
Israel to national suicide for his own personal reasons.
Yesh
Atid and Yamina began negotiations immediately following the
announcement on Sunday night in an effort to reach an agreement by
Wednesday’s deadline.
A vote
of confidence in the government and a swearing-in ceremony could take
place that day. But legally, once Lapid tells President Reuven Rivlin he
can form a government, he has a week to do it.
Knesset
Speaker Yariv Levin could block the vote for up to a week. But his
spokesman said he would not engage in political tricks.
“At
such a crucial moment, responsibility must be taken,” Bennett said.
“Therefore, I am announcing today that I intend to act with all my
strength to form a national-unity government
together with my friend Yair Lapid so that, God willing, together we
will rescue the country from this tailspin, and we will get Israel back
on track.
“Yair and I
disagree on a number of issues of substance. But we are partners in our
love for the country and willingness to work for the sake of the
country.”
Bennett invited
parties to show restraint in achieving their goals in coalition talks
and in the government. More elections would collapse the country, he
said, adding that he had decided instead to “stop the craziness.”
“The only options are a unity government or elections,” he said. “Those saying a right-wing government is possible are lying.”
In
response, Netanyahu said if Bennett would have allowed Lapid’s mandate
to form a government to end on Wednesday night, MKs from the so-called
change camp would have defected and enabled the formation of a
right-wing government.
Bennett
was acting for his own personal interests, knowing that if there were
to be another election, his political career would be over, he said,
adding: “No one would have voted for you if they knew what you would
do.”
What Bennett was forming
was not a unity government but a weak government that would harm
Israel’s deterrence, Netanyahu said. He compared it to what is happening
in politics in Syria and Iran.
Earlier,
Yamina leaders Bennett and Ayelet Shaked spoke in favor of forming a
unity government with Lapid at Sunday’s Yamina faction meeting, and they
received backing from the MKs in the faction, a party spokesman said.
“Leadership
means taking responsibility and not running from it,” Bennett told the
faction. “We have redlines, and we will not cross them. We will not give
up territory or harm the Jewish identity of the State of Israel. It
would be easy to remain stubborn and light fires like others. That is
the way to make the country come apart.”
The
only Yamina MK of the seven who has vowed to rebel is Amichai Chikli,
who did not attend the meeting. He would vote against the government
Bennett and Lapid will form and keep his seat in the Knesset despite
pressure from inside his party to resign, he said in radio interviews.
“Black
flags hover over” such a government, Chikli wrote on Twitter on
Saturday night in a reference to the Black Flag protest movement that
has tried to bring Netanyahu down.
New
Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar turned down offers from Likud on Sunday
morning to rotate as prime minister with Netanyahu and then Bennett in a
three-man rotation.
Likud
negotiator Yaakov Atraktzi made the offer in a conversation with Sa’ar
on Saturday night. According to the offer, Sa’ar would serve as prime
minister for the first 15 months, followed by Netanyahu for two years
and then Bennett for the remainder of the term.
Netanyahu put the offer in writing and got the leaders of Shas, United Torah Judaism and the Religious Zionist Party to sign it.
“In
an effort to end personal considerations and take unprecedented,
far-reaching steps to guarantee the security and the character of the
State of Israel and prevent the formation of a left-wing government that
would endanger the state, we the undersigned party heads are making
this offer,” the letter to Bennett and Sa’ar says.
In
a social-media post, Netanyahu said he had invited Sa’ar and Bennett to
meet immediately and close a deal for a right-wing government.
Sa’ar reacted on Twitter by reiterating his party’s opposition to Netanyahu remaining in power.“
Our
position and our obligation remains to replace Netanyahu’s rule,” he
wrote. “We will continue to act in accordance with that. Warm
recommendation for the next few days: Ignore the political spin.”
The negotiating teams of New Hope and Yesh Atid met Sunday in an effort to finalize an agreement on a unity government.Lapid
and Bennett have agreed that Bennett will serve first as prime minister
until September 2023, and Lapid will take over until the term ends in
November 2025.
Gil Hoffman
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/yesh-atid-new-hope-teams-to-meet-669589
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