Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party is expected to work with the opposition parties in a vote on the establishment of a key parliamentary panel, despite openly supporting a right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud. Sunday reported according to Hebrew media.
The vote on the formation of the organizing committee – which is expected to be led by Likud’s former coalition whip and Netanyahu’s main ally, Miki Zohar – would take place on Monday.
The Organizing Committee, the first Knesset committee to be formed after an election, determines which parliamentary committees will be formed and who will serve on them. Most importantly, it also controls the legislative agenda in the new parliament until a new government is formed.
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By continuing with the anti-Netanyahu bloc over the composition of the panel, Yamina would try to stop the vote and thus strengthen his power.
“We do not care about the blocks,” a Yamina official told the Walla news website. “We want the maximum amount of power, and that gives us the maximum amount of power.”
The maneuver comes as negotiating teams from Yamina and Netanyahu’s Likud have met intensively in recent days in an effort to gain an understanding of the formation of a right-wing government.
Yamina’s party leader Naftali Bennett arrives at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on April 13, 2021 for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
Even with Yamina’s support, coalition efforts for Netanyahu remain very complicated, as such a government would also need the support of the Islamic Ra’am Party, a prospect led by Netanyahu’s allies in the far-right Party of Religious Zionism. was rejected.
The party chairman of religious Zionism, Bezalel Smotrich, on Sunday reiterated his unwavering objection to such a scenario, saying the creation of a center-left government or new elections, which would be the fifth in two and a half years , are preferred options.
Framework’s charter calls Zionism racist and supports a right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
Asked by pro-Netanyahu expert Shimon Riklin on Twitter what the alternative is to a government led by incumbent Prime Minister and backed by Ra’am, Smotrich tweeted: “The alternative is a full-fledged right-wing government. ! ”
He was referring to a hypothetical government that includes only right-wing parties. However, the new hope of Gideon Sa’ar and Yisrael Beytenu of Avigdor Liberman, while on the right, is unwilling to sit in a Netanyahu-led coalition. Liberman has not emerged for two years, and Sa’ar – who formed his party after breaking away from Likud before last month’s election – also shows no sign of compromising on this stance.
Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas (L) and Bezalel Smotrich (R), chairman of Religious Zionism. (Sraya Diamond / David Cohen / Flash90)
But Smotrich laments that Netanyahu supporters are putting him under pressure and “running into the hands of terrorist supporters” rather than investing efforts to put Sa’ar under pressure.
According to Channel 12, Smotrich would even have preferred a coalition led by Yesh Atid and Yamina, and supported by the Arab Joint List or the Ra’am Party, over a right-wing government that includes Religious Zionism and is backed by Ra ‘. is.
Channel 12 News reported on Friday that Bennett had agreed to support the premiership with Netanyahu in a government backed by Ra’am, but only if Smotrich was on board. However, the network said Likud sources denied Yamina’s allegation that Netanyahu made Bennett such an offer. It also reports that Netanyahu believes Bennett is just walking with him and has already decided to join forces with opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Lapid offered Bennett to be prime minister in a rotation agreement between them. However, it is unclear whether a government formed by the anti-Netanyahu bloc could be formed, as it would need the support of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties, as well as the votes of Arab lawmakers, who objected against Bennett as prime minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks to the then leader of the Yamina party, Naftali Bennett, on March 4, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
If Netanyahu fails to form a government within 28 days (with a possible extension of 14 days), President Reuven Rivlin could order either a second person (for another 28-day term and a possible additional 14), or send the mandate back to the Knesset, which gives the legislature 21 days to vote on a candidate supported by 61 MKs.
If the president appoints a second person and the person does not form a coalition, the mandate automatically returns to the Knesset for a period of 21 days. During that time, any MK is eligible to form a government.
Rivlin has implied that he may not give the mandate to a second candidate if Netanyahu fails, but will immediately send it back to the Knesset.
At the end of the 21-day period, if 61 MKs have not agreed on a candidate, the new Knesset will automatically go out and the country will go to another election.
If Netanyahu does not form a government at the end of his allotted term, the so-called change bloc of opposition parties will try to persuade Rivlin to give the mandate to Bennett, Channel 13 reported on Friday.
Sources in the bloc, who promised not to tie with Netanyahu, told the network they feared that if Rivlin did not give the opposition a chance and return the mandate to the Knesset, it would become impossible to ‘. reach a consensus.
