By Paul Shindman, World Israel News -
Negotiations to form a coalition government that would oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to hit a roadblock Wednesday morning as two key coalition partners argued over judicial appointments.
Although most of the outstanding issues have already been resolved, including appointments to key cabinet positions, a demand by the right-wing Yemina Party to have a seat on the committee for judicial appointments may torpedo the new government before it can take off.
The leader of the center-left Yesh Atid Party, Yair Lapid, has until midnight on Wednesday to present his new coalition government that requires at least 61 seats in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset.
Lapid and Yemina leader Naftali Bennett appear to have agreed on most points, including a shared rotation as prime minister with Bennett serving first.
However, Bennett’s second in command, former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, is demanding the seat on the judges committee that has already been promised to Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli.
Shaked said she would not add her vote in support of the new coalition if her demands are not met, according to Israeli media.
Senior Labor member Amar Bar-Lev said unequivocally that Michaeli does not intend to hand her committee seat to Shaked, who has previously called for major reform to allow more right-wing control over the appointment of judges.
“There is no debate as far as we’re concerned,” Bar-Lev told Ynet. “There is an agreement between the Labor Party and Yesh Atid that Merav Michaeli is the government’s representative on this committee and there is no room to open this issue.”
“This is simply a predatory and forceful demand, and if that is their motto in the next government – the chances of the government surviving are very low,” Bar-Lev warned.
Negotiating teams worked through the night to iron out the final details of the “Government of Change” that comprise a “strange bedfellows” collection of small parties from across Israel’s political spectrum.
Led by Lapid’s party that won 17 seats in the March elections, the coalition will included Bennett’s right-wing Yemina (7 seats) along with the right-wing New Hope Party headed by former Likud member Gideon Sa’ar (6), the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu headed by Avigdor Liberman (7), the centrist Blue and White led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz (8), and the left wing Labor (7) and Meretz (6) parties.
However, that adds up to only 58 seats, forcing Lapid and Bennett to rely on the expected four votes of the Islamist United Arab List (Ra’am) Party headed by Mansour Abbas. Ra’am will apparently support the government from the outside in return for legislation and budget considerations that favor Israel’s Arab sector.
Lapid’s 28-day mandate to form a government ends at midnight, and by then he must declare to Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin that he has managed to form a government.
While the coalition negotiations were taking place, right-wing demonstrators protested, carrying signs calling the Yamina Party members “traitors” for joining the political camp that opposes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Demonstrations outside the homes of Bennett and Shaked led police to assign the two politicians security details after treason threats were made against them on social media.
The normally vociferous Twitter accounts of both Bennett and Shaked remained silent on the coalition negotiations with both choosing to not make public statements.
Image: Mark Neyman / Government Press Office (Israel), CC BY-SA 3.0 <;, via Wikimedia Commons
