In closed conversation, Bennett says Jewish-Arab violence rules out an anti-Netanyahu government ? Lapid: Bennett is wrong, I will continue my attempts to build a government
HAARETZ
Naftali Bennett waves after leaving a meeting with leaders of parties opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu, last week.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum Michael Hauser Tov
Yamina leader Naftali Bennett has said in a closed-door meeting between members of his party and Likud representatives on Thursday that a “government of change,” composed of the parties that seek to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is off the table.
He said that given the state of emergency in mixed Arab-Jewish cities, the planned makeup of the government led by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Bennett won’t be able to manage the situation because it has become necessary to deploy military troops and conduct arrests. He said that doing so would be impossible with Mansour Abbas and his United Arab List party.
Bennett said he now prefers a large unity government.
In a statement, Lapid said that he will continue his efforts to build a government, despite Bennett’s decision. “We have a mission, a shared mission, to put this nation back on the right path,” Lapid said. Lapid emphasized that the new government must uphold rule of law, calling the recent violence between Jews and Arabs “an existential threat” to the nation.
Abbas told Channel 12, that Bennett had personally broken the news to him earlier Thursday evening.
“We have no deal with Bennett and no deal with Netanyahu. We managed our coalition talks with both sides with full transparency,” Abbas said. “We said we wouldn’t be a part of the coalition talks, but we would bring them to conclusion.”
On Sunday, Bennett met with Abbas, leading members of his party to believe that a government would have been formed within days.
- Gaza rockets, soaring violence across Israel make new government trickier, but much more badly needed
- 48 hours with no one at the wheel in Israel and Gaza
- Netanyahu is leading Israel into civil war between Jews and Palestinians
Sources in Yamina believed at that point that Abbas would support a government led by Bennett and Lapid so long as his demands were met. Abbas did not finish outlining his demands during his meeting with Bennett, but political sources said he was interested in joining the government.
The United Arab List party froze coalition talks on Monday in the wake of escalations in Jerusalem and the south.
The negotiating teams of all the parties seeking to replace Netanyahu suspended coalition talks on Tuesday in wake of the continually worsening situation.
@ Edgar G.:
Ovadyah Yosef was not involved in Pulsa Dinura which came later.
I will post more when I have time.
@ Edgar G.:
The Israeli (Hebrew) news says the opposite and Bennett had no one in his party any more who would have agreed to the change government.
@ Edgar G.:
I haven’t seen any sign of this.
@ Reader:
O.K> It just sounded that way to me, sinc you always are very critical of him. About Yosef, I faintly recall that he put a curse of some sort on him a Pulsaa Dinura. Quite a coincidence…
It’s been put on lots of Israelis and others and I think that this is the first time that ir “seemed” to work. There used to be articles in the papers about it, Something to dowith Sephardic Jews only. Maybe Kabbala too, but that’s just a guess.
@ Edgar G.:
Ovadya Yosef prophesied Sharon’s stroke and coma (not literally and not in medical terms, of course) on Purim, 2005.
I simply said that this debacle seems to be benefiting Netanyahu.
This doesn’t mean that Netanyahu had a hand in arranging this debacle.
According to latest news, Bennett has changed his mind again. He is now cuddling up with Lapid and his traitors again. Expecting govt tomorrow. A bit optimistic I hope.
@ Bear Klein:
I agree. Its a new ball game now.
@ Bear Klein:
Yes, Bear, I very much agree with your hopes here. I rather wish you had said you had a secret source that one of them would join. But multiple media groups are reporting that Saar is unmoved by the calamity before us and his support of the two would be the more acceptable choice. I am uncertain what to believe of Gantz. I always thought he would backtrack before Netanyahu lost the mandate. If the stories I read about Saar are not more fake news, it fear it will be a great blow to the country.
As far as Abbas is concerned, I was always in support of Smotrich on this point. Such a path would only have led to an unfortunate end.
@ peloni1986:
I have no inside information if Gantz or Saar will join a government with Bibi. Given the situation inside Israel I hope there are not new elections and there will be a strong Zionist government without any of the Arab parties or Meretz. My gut says Gantz might find a way to rationalize it for the current crisis because he likes being Defense Minister and it is providing him an opportunity to prove himself.
Clearly forming a government dependent on Mansour Abbas and RAAM is not possible in the current climate. Bibi tried to do this first and Smotrich kept him from doing it.
@ Reader:
Tje only thing that Ovadiya Josef prophesied was that his bunions were ,aching so rain is coming soon (to a place near you)..
I suppose Netanyahu planned the whole Gaza assault with many people being killed and wounded, so as to delay his court hearings…This is what you seem to be implying….?? The REAL reason is like when the Arab Mamzerim slaughtered that convoy of doctors and nurses shouting… “The governmen tBritish) is with us”…
In this case it’s the Biden crew…
@ Bear Klein:
TOI is reporting that Sa’ar will not join Netanyahu and will not support vote for direct elections.
From TOI live blog earlier today:
So Bennett has decided to pursue the creation of a “large unity” gov’t. I always found it troubling that he claimed to be pursuing a unity gov’t when the proposed ‘unity’ gov’t didn’t include the largest faction in the Knessett. In any case, Bennett is being reported in TOI as having stated that “when there is a wave of pogroms by Arabs across the country…this is a reality-changing event” and that “The change government being formed won’t be able to deal with it”. I am unable to comprehend Bennett’s mindset when considering these statements against the very real possibility of direct confrontations with Iran in the very near future which would have brought us to an even more dire situation than the one currently underway. If the “change gov’t could not deal with this conflict in Gaza, how could it have any chance of dealing with a possible war with Iran when Gaza would clearly have been a very real element of that scenario. It is also being claimed by TOI that Bennett has worked out a deal with Netanyahu to back the direct elections of PM with an arrangement with everyone’s favorite Muslim Brotherhood representative. Bennett and Shaked are supposedly to receive the Defense and Foreign ministry. There is no report and no telling what Abbass will receive(perhaps the presidency?). But, then again,all of this is being reported in TOI, and true to form the tabloid has cited “a political source”, i.e. no source on record. So maybe Bennett said these things or maybe he sneezed and it was just reported as such. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t attack people when they finally do the right thing, so let’s clap and herald Bennett for doing the right thing. That is,of course, if this is not all just more Fake News.
Interesting, how this whole debacle works in Netanyahu’s favor.
They can still have a unity government without Netanyahu.
If he stays, on the table will be a “Palestinian” state with its capital in the East Jerusalem an he’ll push it through to save himself from a possible guilty verdict.
Too bad we don’t have the great sage Ovadya Yosef to prophesy what will happen next to those who will enabled it.
So Smotrich was correct that forming a government with RAAM was folly!
So will either Gantz and/or Saar join the Likud, UTJ, Shas, Religious Zionists and Yamina to make a strong Zionist government.
Clearly that what is needed. Israel first and personality issues later please.