Israel will avoid having to hold its fourth national election in a little more than a year. The Likud party and the Blue and White party have signed an agreement that ends the stalemate in Israeli electoral politics.
The two parties will form a coalition government. Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will remain as PM for 18 months. After that, if all goes according to the plan, Blue and White leader Benny Glantz will replace Netanyahu at the helm.
On first look, it seems like Netanyahu got a good deal. He wanted to annex parts of the West Bank. Under the agreement, as I understand it, he can move ahead with that plan starting on July 1.
Netanyahu also wanted a Judicial Appointments Committee in which a majority is sympathetic to him, an understandable demand given the legal jeopardy in which he finds himself. Reportedly, Netanyahu got his wish. At least that’s what critics of the deal are saying.
In addition, Netanyahu reportedly will be able to veto the appointments of the next attorney general and state prosecutor. The current state prosecutor will remain in office for six months, as there will be no key appointments during the state of emergency in place due to the Wuhan coronavirus crisis.
Naturally, Netanyahu also wanted protection against his removal due to the criminal charges that have been brought against him. The reports I’ve seen are somewhat conflicting as to the degree of legislative protection Netanyahu received, though it’s clear he didn’t get all the protection he wanted.
Importantly, however, if Netanyahu is disqualified because of the criminal charges, Gantz will not automatically replace him. Instead, new elections will be held.
Gantz had pledged that he would never serve in a government headed by someone facing criminal charges. Apparently, he concluded that if he didn’t agree to this deal he might never serve as PM.
Gantz cited the coronavirus crisis as the reason why he agreed to serve with Netanyahu. Some members of his party aren’t buying it. According to the New York Times, the Blue and White party might collapse as a result of the deal.
If Netanyahu serves for the full 18 months, he will have been Israel’s Prime Minister for almost 16 consecutive years. In all, he will have been the PM for almost 19 years.
In my opinion, Netanyahu’s tenure has been a blessing for Israel, both in economic and security terms. I give him special credit for getting through the harrowing Obama years without making concessions to the sworn enemies of Israel, whose interests Obama sought to promote.
Netanyahu hasn’t figured out how to cope with the existential threat to Israel posed by Iran. However, I don’t think any other Israeli leader would have handled the matter better.
Despite Netanyahu successes, Israel faces major problems, and not just those presented by Iran. Its political system seems broken, as the inability to produce a winner despite holding those three elections suggests. Corruption also seems rampant, at least from my distant vantage point.
One hopes that enough solidarity and public spirit remains to sustain Israel in the challenging times ahead. One hopes that the agreement to form a coalition government is a positive sign in this regard.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.