T. Belman. The only reason to bring the Zionist Union into the government is to back this new move . Bayit Yehuda is on the way out. It has already announced that they will leave the government should it decide to create a Palestinian state. This initiative will undercut the French move and a potential move by Obama.
Renewed Pressure to Add Zionist Union to Netanyahu’s Coalition Focuses on Livni
If terms that are acceptable to Livni can be found, the move could be carried out soon, source says; Habayit Hayehudi could end up paying the price.
A senior coalition source said on Thursday that attempts to add the Zionist Union to the coalition have been renewed. Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are pressuring in recent days faction co-leader Tzipi Livni, one of the prominent objectors to the move, in an attempt to persuade her to join the government.
A source in Netanyahu’s Likud estimates that if terms that are acceptable to Livni can be found, the move could be carried out very soon. Sources in the Labor Party also estimated on Thursday that Zionist Union co-leader and Labor chairman Isaac Herzog would find it difficult to enter the government if Livni doesn’t join him. According to a Likud source, officials close to Netanyahu considered turning the tables and offering Livni the foreign affairs portfolio in exchange only for her five Hatnua lawmakers joining the coalition, but the offer didn’t come to fruition.
A Habayit Hayehudi source said his party could pay the price. “Netanyahu is plotting to remove Habayit Hayehudi from the coalition and is therefore so eager to bring in the Zionist Union,” he said.
Until recently, Netanyahu insisted not to harm Habayit Hayehudi in the efforts to expand the government, since without its support the coalition would depend on Herzog’s support, and that he could bring to its disbanding.
The latest confrontation between Netanyahu and Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett and the bad blood between the two may bring to Netanyahu changing his mind. It’s unclear whether Netanyahu would work toward dismissing the party’s ministers, or whether he would wait for their resignation against the backdrop of political and diplomatic disagreements between Herzog and Bennett.
Sources in the Likud and the Zionist Union see a resignation of Habayit Hayehudi’s ministers as a move that would significantly ease the case of Herzog joining the government and his ability to explain the move to the public. The Zionist Union would want to receive the justice portfolio – now in the hands of Habayit Hayehudi – and receiving the portfolio may soften the Zionist Union leadership’s objections to enter the government. However, Likud sources clarified that while the education and agriculture portfolios may be given to the Zionist Union, the justice portfolio will remain in Netanyahu’s hands. The economy portfolio may be given to the Zionist Union.
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon have suggested in recent days that a major diplomatic breakthrough is being promoted by players in the region. On Wednesday, Kahlon called on Herzog to join the government, urging him “not to miss the historic window of opportunity that has been created.”
A source close to Netanyahu said that the plan to bring in Herzog to the coalition at this stage also includes an effort to convince Labor lawmakers and its supporters that it’s appropriate that Labor hold the reins in the diplomatic process being promoted behind the scenes with the Egyptian president.
A senior Labor official confirmed to Haaretz a few days ago that Herzog wasn’t ruling out joining the government at the moment, and that he intends on reviewing the move in coming weeks.
MK Shelly Yacimovich estimated on Thursday morning that Herzog is continuing work to join the coalition.\
“I’m really not sure that there isn’t anyone calculating the steps ahead of another round in this known farce,” she said on Army Radio. “I really really hope that we’re not getting into this farce again. I’ll do everything to stop such a miserable move.”
Signs that the move to add the Zionist Union to the government is still on the table grew in recent days. Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon publicly called on Herzog to join the coalition. Netanyahu even clarified in a speech to the Knesset plenum that he’s holding on to the foreign affairs portfolio and other portfolios ahead of the party’s possible entrance to the coalition.
In the meanwhile, the past few weeks have seen a real weakening in the Zionist Union lawmakers’ opposition to joining the government.
“Had I been familiar with the points of understanding Herzog reached with Netanyahu, which he revealed when the negotiations blew up, I wouldn’t have come out publicly against the move as I did, but I would have been the first to join the government,” said one Zionist Union lawmaker.
Another lawmaker said that “there’s no doubt that most of the party would join Herzog and enter the coalition if a similar offer is made again.” He added, “Following the initial shock of the possibility that we join Netanyahu, there’s now a recovery and calculation of the benefits that joining the government would entail.”
The Zionist Union responded that “the Likud and Kahlon can forget about us legitimizing the bad ways of the government of Netanyahu and his natural partners. We oppose its ways and won’t enter this government.”
Bernard if you are interested follow the link get the report it tells settlement by settlement and block by block where population growth has occurred. The report is about population growth and not building per say.
It is an interesting factual report. It will answer your questions.
PS Bernard – Ted posted the article above. He apparently like I found the article interesting. It is quite educational. My posting of it had nothing to do with you.
Bear Klein Said:
is any of that outside the major settlement blocks or is it all as BB says every time he makes announcements that “it is natural growth inside the major blocks that everyone knows Israel will keep”??
Your post confuses me because according to you everything is fine with Jewish settlement in YS outside the major blocks in which case why complain? I understand that jewish settlement in the major blocks is only a small percentage of YS…… hence the land swaps. Is that all the jews should get out of YS? That appears to be BB’s perspective… otherwise why stop jewish bldg and allow only muslim bldg outside the major blocks?
@ Bear Klein:
bernard ross Said:
I am curious as to whether you think BB did not know that entire 8 years? He either knew and is deceiving his voters or his intelligence network is faulty.
@ Bear Klein:
Are you submitting this article with a view to rebutting my argument that BB does NOT build outside the major settlement blocks AND that he HAS obstructed, frozen, any Jewish building outside those same major settlement blocks(the euro designated ghetto boundaries) AND that he HAS been facilitating the euro illegal building of muslim homes in YS(area C outside the major blocks) for the past 8 years.
I have not read of ONE single new project under BB outside the major settlement blocks that “everyone knows Israel will keep”, in fact he makes a point of saying that to rebut that he is building.
In reading this article one gets the impression from you that there is no problem of a BB freeze of bldg outside the euro designated ghetto boundaries of the major blocks while at the same time allowing the euros to illegally build muslim homes. Granted he has built immediately next to an existing block but the same criticism applies: he has frozen building to comply with the euro designated ghetto boundaries and has not built outside them… he has not even built in E1 as approved years ago in his boastful baloney announcement.
My difficulty with you is that I get the feeling you like to cover up what he is doing while at the same time blaming everyone else for the lack of annexation or bldg. Your posting echoes those of the enemy who says that the Jews are massively bldg whereas my understanding is that BB has kept all development in the existing major blocks to be kept and has only allowed muslim bldg in the rest of C. Isnt most of the vacant land in C outside those major blocks and was not that land reserved for jewish settlement at the LON mandate? There must be a reason why BB keeps his facilitation of eu illegal bldg secret for years until he was outed. He obviously wants to deceive people as to what he is doing.
@ bernard ross:
Bibi thought process is the bigger the coalition the less subject he is to being hard balled when a myriad of issues come up and one of the partners threatens to bring down the government.
Yes the example the Haredi parties are threatening to leave now over the compromise on the Kotel with the Reformed Jews.
I do not believe anyone will join the coalition. That is my opinion.
bernard ross Said:
could this also be a factor?
would herzog and lapid accept the reversion on the perks and privileges, etc. what was the position of the 2 religious parties on the left entering the coalition?
Bear Klein Said:
so you think his “ignoring” of euro illegal building of muslim homes in YS the past 8 years was just going along with them? Add to that his freeze of jewish homes outside the euro designated ghetto boundaries of the major blocks.
Bear Klein Said:
so did herzog, but BB keeps trying… but why does BB need more seats at this time, you didnt answer that question?
@ bernard ross:Lapid turned him down already.
Bear Klein Said:
the proposals I read are for there to be withdrawals within 5-10 years from the valley. BB only seeks security… so if we see a deal purporting to deal with the security issues what prevents him from taking it?
the pals can agree to a demilitarized state and change later because a full state cannot legally be limited from militarization. the pals can recognize a jewish state today but tomorrow join with israeli arabs to riot for “rights”… its all words because BB has never claimed the land OR even the legitimate and legal right of Jewish settlement… he does that for a reason… he wants people to forget jewish rights to settle in YS.
@ Bear Klein:
what if he made a deal with lapid again?
In any case, why is BB doing all this trying to get extra seats right now… I expect that he expects trouble from Bennett for a future agenda or he expects a budget problem?
@ bernard ross:No one else appears to want to join the coalition. So Bennetts 8 seats would bring the government down to 58 if he left and its demise.
There will be no two state solution. None of the Pals agree to Israel security in Judah/Samaria permanently, PA state being demilitarized, whole undivided Israeli Jerusalem and recognition of a Jewish State and foregoing the hypothetical Palestinian right of return.
So Bennett is just making it clear and distancing his party from the international rhetoric of two states which the Prime Minister as you know is playing along with.
Bear Klein Said:
what does that matter? BB is bringing in others to replace benett for that eventuality…after liberman how many more seats does BB need to replace bennett? bennetts resignation will mean nothing…. but neither has his presence in the gov prevented BB from continuing his agenda.
Bennett says in very plain Hebrew he will resign and bring down the government before allowing a Palestinian State or Jerusalem to be divided on an interview on Channel 2.
@ GMarcus:You are correct. The piece of paper process would lead to a major war and not PEACE.
So before the PA becomes a state on the 1967 borders or anything close to Israel would be required to annex Area C and stay where they are militarily in the remainder of Judah/Samaria.
Israel needs at some as a government to say enough NO TWO STATE SOLUTION IT WILL NOT WORK!
It appears that Obama is using France as surrogates to extend threats that he’d like to make against Israel, but can’t, because of US political constraints…
Here’s my take:
Say you’re standing on top of a sharp mountain peak and are surrounded by precipices on every side…
You better not move and stay put where you are, because every other option would be disastrous!..
Up until maybe some new circumstance is created, such as a helicopter that appears out of nowhere in order to save you.
Similarly, Israel’s security is based on preserving the status quo for as long as possible, until a new paradigm gets somehow established at some future date.
Paradoxically, the same applies to Israel’s Pal-Arab enemies under Abu-Mazen/Fatah rule…
This is because the only force keeping the Fatah regime alive against imminent overthrow and replacement by Hamas, is none other than Israel’s military presence under the status quo!
Consequently, both parties in the conflict are eager to maintain the status quo and its delicate stability for their survival…
But now here come clueless US/EU politicians and make every effort toward crushing that stability…
Their Mideast policies inevitably lay the foundations for eventual Jihadist Hamas/ISIS takeover of Judea & Samaria!
That would render Israel indefensible, and also seriously threaten the survival of the Hashemite regime in Jordan.
The end result of the current US/EU push would inevitably pose a mortal threat to all three supposed Western allies in the area: Israel, the PA, and Jordan!
Go figure…
Bibi is working at derailing the French plan and trying to stop Obama from agreeing to any UN Security Council resolutions setting the parameters of a PA state and where Israel would have to withdraw to. If Israel and the Arabs undertake negotiations that would derail such moves.
No Herzog will not join the coalition. Kahlon wants him to join but Herzog can not join because his party members will not let join. In spite of what Haaretz is trying to paint.
In the coalition Kahlon is on the political spectrum furtherst to the left. So he is grasping at straws.
Bibi has said there are many interesting things in the Arab peace plan. Bibi and Lieberman want to negotiate first with the Arab Countries and after that is done bring along the Palestinians. He wants to normalize relations with these Arabs first.
.
The Saudis notably did not dismiss Bibi’s comments which do leave the door open further for pursing the matter. In the past they said it was all or nothing in regards to the plan.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/213081#.V1BioeQorv8