Shocks and Crises Leave Israel's Government Battered and Uncertain

In one week two ministers resigned, an Yisrael Beiteinu MK refused to join the
coalition, and Naftali Bennett is mocking Benjamin Netanyahu openly.

Yossi Verter May 29, 2016 11:47 AM

Illustration. Eran Wolkowski
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On Friday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu was struck by three blows that of
course meant a restless weekend at 1 Balfour Street in Jerusalem.
1. The thunderous departure of the environmental affairs minister, Avi Gabbay.
2. The aggressive insistence by the Habayit Hayehudi chairman, Education
Minister Naftali Bennett, to establish a commission to study the workings of
the security cabinet. 3. An opinion poll released by Israel Radio showing that
Likud could lose its hold on the government if a new center-right party runs in
the next election.
At the press conference with the newly appointed defense minister, Avigdor
Lieberman, Netanyahu said Yisrael Beiteinus joining the cabinet would mean
greater stability in government and the coalition. More signs of this stability:
In one week two ministers resigned, a Yisrael Beiteinu MK refused to join the
coalition, and two MKs from a governing party are threatening to go rogue in
voting on the state budget.

And above all, the chairman of a coalition party is mocking the prime minister
openly, challenging him with an ultimatum and initiating a crisis that could lead
who knows where if its not resolved by when Lieberman is sworn in this week.
Apparently theres no choice and Netanyahu will backtrack.
Netanyahus coalition only entered its second year last week. Its still young. But
the profusion of shocks and crises, the murky atmosphere and bad blood are
more like a battered coalition in its third year.
Former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has said he intends to run for national
leadership; that is, to bring down Netanyahu. Thats what Gabbay has said: I am
realistic enough to know my place and my value. I did not expect Kulanu to resign
with me. But in the end, every crack weakens the ruling structure. Everyone
must contribute his own crack, and I believe I contributed mine.
Gabbay says he has been suffering stomach pangs for a long time in this
government with this prime minister. I was very disturbed by his lack of
statesmanship, the loss of values, his aggressiveness and his incitement when
everything is cynical with him and everything is allowed, he said.
For Gabbay, Yaalons replacement with Lieberman was the last straw. He felt he
would be lying to himself if he stayed.
Gabbay admits that not everyone in Kulanu shares his opinion; he says only MK Eli
Alalouf identifies with him 100 percent. When I asked Gabbay what he intended
to do in the unknown amount of time until the next election, he had a one-word
answer: Politics.
He does not intend to go back to the business sector, where he was very
successful. Like Yaalon and former Likud minister Gideon Saar, and perhaps
Kulanus chairman, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, he could play a role in a new
movement or movements to bring down Netanyahu. (Either way, Kahlons weekend
in Italy was ruined by the resignation of his good friend, who founded Kulanu
with him.)
The moment the coalition of 66 MKs is approved in the Knesset, which is likely
early in the week, the dust will settle and events will move on. But the residue
has accumulated and the expectations will fulfill themselves in the end.
It could happen over some foolish thing, something unexpected that develops
under the radar. In any case, a severe cabinet crisis ensued Friday after
Bennett called Netanyahus proposal spin, preached at him that the inner
cabinet was dealing with human life, and warned Netanyahu to stop railing
against him and Habayit Hayehudi and start addressing issues he was elected to
address.

Bennetts angry response stemmed from two reasons. On Friday he read in the
media that according to anonymous sources, MKs from his party object to his
conduct toward Netanyahu and believe he has painted himself into a corner.
Bennett could easily see the fingerprints of Netanyahus people trying to incite
the partys MKs against its chairman.
The second reason is the infuriating, inflaming and divisive post on Netanyahus
Facebook page decrying the media and the left for not coming out against the
alleged rape of a mentally challenged woman by Palestinians, a rape that it is not
clear even occurred.
Bennett was shocked. People who talked to him heard his harsh response to the
post, the alleged rape and the person responsible for the post. This is partly why
Bennett took a hard line on the security-cabinet issue when it seemed the
conflict was about to end.
Yossi Verter
Haaretz Contributor
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