T. Belman. Throughout the year, Bibi yhas been trying to get Herzog into the coalition, so that He is not vulnerable to Bennett Leaving it.
It is obvious to me that Bibi wants to find a way to accept the Arab Peace Initiative. He praised al Sisi for pushing for it just recently. That’s why he maintains the construction freeze. Saudi Arabia and Blair are also involved in the effort. He is also trying to ease the blockade and assumes responsibility for Gazans. I wrote about this in Bibi’s Talking Points.
Prime minister tells reporters that he is reserving the Foreign Ministry portfolio for the Zionist Union leader. ‘
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told diplomatic correspondents on Sunday that he is interested in broadening his coalition by having the Zionist Union join the government, in part to advance “diplomatic opportunities.” Netanyahu explained that, for that reason, he is still keeping the foreign minister’s position for himself.
The Zionist Union is made up of the Labor Party along with the smaller Hatnuah party.
“At this stage, there are no contacts, but I have the desire to expand the government,” the prime minister said. “I have good reasons to want its expansion. The challenges are very big. After we pass a budget, there will be political stability, and we will need to work in a great many fields in which it’s possible that important decisions will be required to spur the economy. We are in a situation of a changing world – diplomatic threats and opportunities responding to which will be easier if the government is broader. As a result of this, I am retaining the foreign minister’s portfolio.”
In the course of the prime minister’s briefing, which lasted more than two hours, he commented on a number of subjects, including the controversy regarding the new public broadcasting corporation, the military aid agreement with the United States, Israel’s 2014 military operation in the Gaza Strip, known as Protective Edge, and the anticipated state comptroller’s report on the conduct of the operation. Netanyahu also commented on a number of other diplomatic and security issues.
A large portion of the briefing dealt with Operation Protective Edge, with the political confrontation with Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who heads the Habayit Hayehudi party, and with Yesh Atid party chairman Yair Lapid, both of whom recently criticized Netanyahu over Israel’s handling of the tunnels built by Hamas. Netanyahu also commented on the state comptroller’s report on the subject, which will be released in the coming months, saying that he wants it to be publically available. “We want all the truth on Operation Protective Edge to be out there,” Netanyahu said. “That everyone will know about all our preparations beforehand and all the actions taken in real time. No one is going to bury the report.”
The prime minister was asked about the difficult economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza and the assessment by various intelligence figures in Israel that Gaza could explode if the situation of its population doesn’t improve. “The situation in Gaza is always problematic, [and was so] before Protective Edge,” he said.
“There is no real governance there. There is no economy there. There is a regime there of 30,000 armed people who believe in their caliphate and don’t look after the population. We want to prevent harm to the population as a value in itself, because these are people who are being held hostage. But the situation there is also bad for Israel, so I have directed that basic things be advanced that can improve the situation, such as preventing the pollution of ground water, a solution to the electricity crisis and preventing epidemics,” he said.
Netanyahu argued that there are security dangers involved in establishing a port in Gaza, but said Israel is interested in making the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza available so that goods can be brought in through that location in addition to the Kerem Shalom crossing point, a process that is expected to take about another year.
Singing praises for Netanyahu?
In the press briefing, Netanyahu also discussed recent controversy surrounding the establishment of a new public broadcasting coropration to replace the Israel Broadcasting Authority, as well as claims that the PM was seeking to control the media market. Netanyahu clarified that an initiative by Coalition Chairman MK David Bitan to promote a bill shutting down the public broadcasting corporation was not coordinated with him and that he didn’t approve it. Netanyahu also noted that several cabinet ministers have asked him to consider Bitan’s bill but that he refused, pushing forward a bill which merely delays the launch of the corporation’s broadcasts to January 1, 2017.
The prime minister also said that remarks by Culture Minister Miri Regev to the effect that the government should control the corporation were not acceptable.
Netanyahu said that there was a problem of concentration of economic power in commercial TV channels in Israel and that the field was not competitive enough. This problem ought to be solved so that the public would have more options to choose from, the PM said. “Public broadcasting isn’t propped by competition but by government funds and by the taxpayers,” Netanyahu said. “The question of a variety of opinions and representation of opinions is a difficult one, since we don’t want to interfere with content or with content creators. The question of how to ensure variety is a difficult one. The Broadcasting Authority kept to a state tone and approach, on many occasions. I have no solution on how to ensure this in the corporation.”
The prime minister added that he rejects criticism against him that he intends to take over the media or harm freedom of the press. “I see that I’m portrayed by the media as one of the region’s rulers,” Netanyahu said, adding ironically: “When I open this or that channel I see praise for Netanyahu and satire against those against Netanyahu. For how long can these praises be tolerated?”
Bennett keeps badgering Bibi in public. He is sick of it and has even had some of his Likud buddies tell Bennett to back off or he will fire him.
Bennett is trying to become the leader of the right. He thinks he can leverage Bibi publicly because if Bayit Yehudi leaves the coalition would fold and their would be new elections which Bibi certainly does not want now.
So this dropping of we would like to expand the coalition is to try and shut Bennett up. He has no realistic chance to bring the Zionist Union into the coalition and he knows it.
This is politics and not new horizons with Arab diplomacy.