Likud has been unable to reach agreement with senior coalition partner Yesh Atid regarding who will become the next chairman of the prestigious Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee. Until recently, that post was held by Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, but he stepped down when he was acquitted in his fraud trial to resume serving as the nation’s foreign minister.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists the appointment must remain in Likud while Yair Lapid is tenacious in his demand that he appoints a member of his party. Lapid insists that there will be no compromise on the matter.
While the sides continue the feud Knesset Speaker (Likud) Yuli Edelstein announced that he is going to appoint himself as the temporary chairman until Yesh Atid and Likud can reach agreement. This is likely to precipitate a coalition crisis. Adding fuel to the situation is a Yesh Atid decision to move ahead with a bill that will grant to’eva couples the same tax incentives received by regular couples. Both Likud and Bayit Yehudi have told Lapid they will oppose the bill but Lapid insists on moving ahead with the bill nevertheless.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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This could be an opportunity to resolve the conscription crisis, with Degel ha-Torah, Agudah and Shas replacing Yesh Atid in the government. It would require a solution acceptable to Bayit Yehudi and Likud, perhaps involving cutting off subsidies for yeshiva students who don’t go to the army, but no prosecution for draft refusal and no loss of welfare state benefits (meaning those benefits given to everyone including Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who support Hamas).
Keep Lapid in the government a little longer. Give him as much rope as possible to hang himself. Netanyahu, with all his faults, has put Lapid in a position to harm himself and the polls are proving it. In the opposition, he would have gotten stronger and be a challenge for PM. That would be a complete disaster.