T. Belman. New Hope got Funding a program to supervise Palestinian construction in Area C. Whatever does that mean or imply.
Although the terms under which the new coalition deals were finalized will only be revealed on Friday, the agreements’ key elements are clear
By Michael Hauser Tov, HAARETZ Jun. 9, 2021
The coalition agreements signed by all the parties in the emerging government will be made public only on Friday, but the main points are already clear.
A few issues still require further discussion, including some agreements with the United Arab List and the precise mechanism by which this “parity government” will work. But few governments actually finalize all the issues before they’re sworn in.
Given that this will be an ideologically diverse government composed of eight parties, each one knows its own accomplishments will be modest. The agreements state that every bill submitted to the Knesset and every other significant decision will require the consent of all the parties, making many major changes impossible.
Nevertheless, each party gets something from the deal.
New Hope
- Dividing the position of attorney general in two: the head of the prosecution and the government’s legal adviser. As Haaretz has reported, the plan is to name a committee that will study the issue and submit recommendations to the cabinet for approval.
- Passing a new Basic Law on Legislation that will regulate the relationship between the Knesset and the Supreme Court and include a mechanism for repealing laws and basic laws by the court.
- Responsibility for preschools will be transferred from the Labor Ministry to the Education Ministry, which will be headed by New Hope’s Yifat Shasha-Biton.
- Funding a program to supervise Palestinian construction in Area C, the part of the West Bank under Israeli jurisdiction.
- Marijuana laws will be reformed to decriminalize personal use and regulate the market.
- Legislate a prime minister term limit: according to the draft bill, a prime minister who had served eight consecutive years cannot be elected to the Knesset for four years.
Labor Party
- The Labor Party, with seven Knesset seats, will have six ministers or deputy ministers. The party’s ministerial portfolios will be transportation (Merav Michaeli), public security (Omer Bar Lev) and Diaspora affairs (to be determined). Two of those three ministers will be members of the inner cabinet. The party will also chair the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset as well as the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee.
- A seat in the Judicial Appointments Committee: Despite its concession regarding the ministerial seat on the Judicial Appointments Committee, the party ensured that it will have one vote in the committee throughout the next term. During the first two years, Labor will get one of the two seats reserved for MKs, and after that, party chairwoman Merav Michaeli will hold the ministerial seat.
- A special division will be set up to support Reform and Conservative Jews in Israel.
United Arab List
- The Kaminitz Law, which makes it easier to raze illegal construction, will be frozen through 2024: The Arab community views this law as aimed primarily at it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had originally suspended it in response to complaints by Jewish farmers, but it was supposed to have been unfrozen at the end of next year. The coalition agreements also require the new government to discuss amending the law within four months of being sworn in. But since every party has veto power over legislation, that provision is unlikely to lead to any actual changes.
- All home demolitions in the Negev will be frozen for three months while the government formulates a clear policy on this issue.
- UAL chairman Mansour Abbas will head the Knesset’s Interior and Environment Committee, but the committee’s authority to supervise the police will be transferred to the Public Security Committee.
- Deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office: UAL has yet to decide whether to make use of this clause.
- Funding for Arab community: An unprecedented 52 billion shekels ($16 billion) in government funding for the Arab community over the next few years. Until now, the biggest program of investment in the Arab community was Netanyahu’s five-year plan, which totaled 15 billion shekels.
- The deal between Yesh Atid and Labor also says no additional factions can join the coalition without the latter’s sign-off.
Meretz
- Meretz will receive three cabinet portfolios: Health (party chairman Nitzan Horowitz), environment (Tamar Zandberg), and regional cooperation (Esawi Freige).
- Promoting LGBT rights: The agreement states that the parties will use “all the tools at their disposal to advance the gay community’s rights,” including by finding a solution for couples who currently can’t marry legally. But this language is less binding than it seems. First, any legislation will require the consent of all the parties, and UAL is adamantly opposed to gay rights. Moreover, UAL’s coalition agreement gives it the right to vote its conscience on LGBT issues. Thus, the chances of any new legislation being passed on this issue are slim. Nevertheless, the fact that Yamina – a religious Zionist party – signed off on this language is in itself an achievement.
- Promoting public transportation on the Sabbath: agreement is non-binding on this issue as well.
- Anti-emissions law: setting up binding, nation-wide greenhouse gasses emissions regulations.
Kahol Lavan
- Establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate the Mount Meron disaster, in which 45 died in a stampede during a religious festival.
- Re-examining the national conscription law: Party leader Benny Gantz wants to change the model to include an alternate national service track.
Yisrael Beiteinu
- The government will adopt the Western Wall compromise of 2016: a non-segregated area for male and female worshipers will be established in the southern plaza of the compound; of the six seats reserved for cabinet members in the committee responsible for the new area, three will be reserved for women.
- Promoting legislation that would authorize city rabbis to conduct conversions: a non-binding clause, which will only include support for such a move.
- Promoting an amendment that would revoke the interior minister’s ability to close businesses on Shabbat: Again, a non-binding clause.
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The top-level security cabinet will reportedly include three Yamina members — Bennett, Shaked and Matan Kahana. There will be three members of New Hope — Sa’ar, Elkin and Yoaz Hendel, along with Yisrael Beytenu’s Liberman. Yesh Atid will only have one security cabinet member: Lapid. There will also be two representatives from Labor — Michaeli and Bar-Lev; one representative from Blue and White — Gantz; and one from Meretz — Horowitz.
@Reader
Sorry you find this to be the case, Reader, especially as so much of my commentary is in response to your own. I guess that was a question you posed as a statement, so no, I don’t use translators to express my opinions, ever, and I don’ t use Google for anything.
I do have other language skills I could utilize, some with greater ability than others, but I am less an expert in any of them than my own native English tongue. Not that I see it as materially significant if I was Latvian using a translator to pose my thoughts as long as they were a fair representation of my meaning.
I could probably spend more time in preparing my comments and responses, but I do hate the expense in time that self-editing requires and editing always lengthens my thoughts. I have written for publication in the past and I find editing to be the most taxing and least rewarding part of the entire process – probably because I lack the ability to properly express my thoughts as you have just implied with your translator suspicion.
So forgive me if you find my syntax as flawed or my diction as rote. It is just how Peloni talks, writes and thinks, flawed as I am, its the best I can muster in a moment. Besides, I often try to truncate my comments to suit your critique of their length – admittedly without much success. Besides have you ever translated a sentence into a foreign language and had an automated translator translate it back? It can relay a great deal of unintended nonsense.
Peloni’s comments sound like they were written in a foreign language and then translated into English by Google Translate.
Bear, this is a fair point. I have a great reluctance of Gantz, so this might suggest something that should temper such thoughts. But, he would be held to these attacks of late by the decision of the Security Committee of the Right Wing gov’t, is this not true? I don’t hold much value in the scolding of Gantz by reporters as I don’t actually see much of it at all. I have had my concerns of him since before he entered the political arena officially, and not due to the challenge of Bibi, but his support for the JPOA which was recalled to my attention by an associate of mine a few years ago.
In anycase, the great concentration of supporters of the US JPOA policy in 2015 in this new gov’t save Bennetts and Saars members and perhaps Lieberman too is very concerning. It does leave Bennett a lopsided support for a policy which I would expect is more significant than his small numbers could succeed in opposing, save those matters which are within the purview of the Security Committee.
By the way, thank you for sharing the error in my previous post.
@Peloni many of the not officially reported military actions Israel has been taking in recent months is with Gantz as Defense Minister. So I personally have been watching his positive actions as opposed to the bad mouth of him by reporters.
@Peloni without Gantz the right have a majority in the Security Cabinet, so it is not required to have Gantz’s vote.
The security cabinet will include three Yamina members, Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Matan Kahana. There will be two members of the Likud-breakaway New Hope party, Gideon Sa’ar and Ze’ev Elkin, along with fellow hardliner, Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman.
Yesh Atid will only have one security cabinet member, Lapid. There will be also one representative from Blue and White, Benny Gantz; one representative from Labor, Merav Michaeli; and one from Meretz, Nitzan Horowitz.
@Bear Klein
It is of course beyond anyone’s knowledge, but this would require that Gantz at a minimum would have to be convinced that acting apart from American policy should be allowed. Anyone supporting the JPOA could not be expected to hold such views, much less that they would support such unilateral actions, despite the vital nature of the actions. We will have to see how this all plays out and I hope for Bennett to be able to maintain such good policies from Netanyahu’s successes, but the dark picture that Caroline’ analysis suggests does provide fair questions about Bennet’s partners, such as the America first faction(for lack of a better description) in this new gov’t, that might said to be more provoking than would support a conclusion that they are simply political catcalls. Ignoring her anger and characterization of Bennett, would you not agree with at least this much of her concerns? Serious question, here.
@Ted, I really have valued Glick’s views over many years. I now take with a huge grain of salt anything she says because has gone overboard and sometimes very inaccurately on her critic of Bennett. So I will wait to see what happens and I personally am not putting much stock into her views on the new government.
I believe that persuasion most of the time on a personal level will be more effective with Biden than public confrontation. I would leave public confrontation as a last resort. Sometimes Israel will just have to act on its course (such as with Iranian nuclear facilities and military facilitates) and explain later to Biden.
I am OK with most of the internal agenda,
I am greatly concerned with the desire of most of the Cabinet to get in bed with the Biden administration as indicated by Glick. I liked Bibi’s independence.
I am also concerned with What Ganz will do in Area C. He is fully in charge.
What can a right wing PM do supported by in his own party and perhaps New Hope. I don’t understand the function of a PM. I do understand that he can veto any departure from what is agreed in the agreements.. Is that enough?
At least security is in the hands of the right and Mossad.
And Justice is in the hands of Sa’ar and Shaked at least for two years.
@Ted, I trust Bennett and I believe where possible he will stay true to his right-wing principles. We all know paper agreements must be acted upon to have relevance.
So we will find out what happens. See what Peloni posted below to see why it was totally necessary form a government. Meaning all the important things the government plans on doing according to principles. Some of the most important being:
Matters concerning daily life in Israel:
Construction of 2 hospitals – in the Negev and the Galilee.
Establishment of an additional airport.
Establishment of a university in the Galilee.
Establishment of a budget for the unfunded students at Ariel University.
Overall plan for transportation in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
Set annual additions to the basket of health services for the purpose of providing additional medicines, equipment, and medical technologies.
Assistance for the hotel and tourism industry in light of the Corona crisis, including: tax relief, flexible furlough, and compensation for new businesses.
Promoting a program to eradicate crime in the Arab sector.
Increasing income support allowance for the elderly to 70% of the minimum wage.
Legislation of the Welfare Services for Persons with Disabilities Law, along with encouraging the use of sign language.
Promoting reform and implementing additional measures for IDF veterans with physical and mental disabilities.
Establishment of an emergency system for women in crisis.
Promoting the deployment of fiber-optic cables in the periphery and in the Arab sector.
Moderate the rise in the cost of housing, marketing at affordable housing, adding 300,000 housing units to the market.
Ensuring Israel’s national interests in Area C. Allocation of resources to the Ministry of Defense for enforcement in cases of construction violations and the illegal takeover of land in Area C.
Splitting the position of Attorney General and State Prosecutor (led by Justice Minister-designate, Gideon Sa’ar).
@Bear
I don’t yet understand what power Bennett has and whether he will cling to rightwing policies regarding Area C or veer to the left. Did Gantz keep in the Ministry of Defense the management of Area C?
Caroline Glick worries:
“The third reason Israel’s decade of diplomatic achievements is likely to end in short order is because America-obsessed Lapid, Gantz and their ilk don’t understand the importance or potential of Netanyahu has accomplished. They will not dedicate the necessary resources to maintain the ties he forged with the likes of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz or Brazil’s President Javier Bolsonaro, because they don’t value those ties. So the ties will whither.
This then brings us to Washington, the only place that matters for the incoming cabinet ministers.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before House and Senate committees. His remarks showed that just as Lapid and his colleagues are set to tear down Netanyahu’s legacy, US President Joe Biden, Blinken and their advisors have taken an industrial-sized eraser to Donald Trump’s policies and achievements in the Middle East.”
More details
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307909
@TED, Hopefully with a budget to monitor Area C it means the following: