At present, the Knesset (Israel\u2019s parliament) is still an interim government. However, the coronavirus crisis has now forced the two larger parties and their blocs to attempt to form an emergency unity government. Two main roadblocks are hindering the formation of a unity government. The Likud and Blue & White, continue to meet despite their disagreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One roadblock is Likud’s demand for\nlegislation preventing the High Court of Justice to rule on Netanyahu\u2019s right\nto serve as Prime Minister as he faces three charges of corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gantz, leader of Blue & White and\ncurrently Knesset speaker, wants legislation that would bar an MK under\nindictment from serving as Prime Minister (meaning Netanyahu.) This would\nchange the ‘Basic Law’, which can only happen by winning a vote. At least 61\nKnesset Members must vote for the change. \u2018Basic Laws\u2019 form the roots of\ndemocracy in Israel. Clause 18 stipulates that the Prime Minister may continue in office even if under indictment<\/em>.\nThe law also states that the Prime\nMinister can remain in office even if a district court convicts him<\/em> of a\ncrime carrying moral turpitude because the ruling can be appealed before the\nSupreme Court. He would only be removed from office if the Supreme Court\nrejects such an appeal and the ruling becomes final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In most democracies, the accused is\npresumed innocent until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. If found\nguilty and convicted, the accused can still appeal. In the case of Israel\u2019s\nBasic Laws, the decision by the administrative authority to try someone doesn’t\nmake the elected official guilty. The lawmakers rightly believed that a public\nofficial (unelected judges, or Attorney General) should not be empowered with\nthe authority to dismiss a Prime Minister. In a democratic country, the will of\nthe people is the foundation of democracy. The Prime Minister is chosen by the\npublic. An Attorney-General or a court cannot and should not intervene in the\npolitical arena and dismiss an elected official. This is what the Likud and\nNetanyahu are objecting to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel needs to maintain its strength\nand stability during the storm that rages around us. Just before the current\ncoronavirus crisis, Israel faced the possibility of a government coalition that\nwould include the Joint Arab List with its anti-Jewish leaders. The Joint Arab\nList is made up of Israeli Arab factions whose leaders reject Israel’s right to\nexist as a Jewish state. Israel, being a democracy, allows ANY elected Israeli\ncitizen to serve as a Knesset member (a member of the Parliament,) even when\nthey openly support Palestinian terrorism and the Palestinian cause. Some of\nthem publically object Israel\u2019s right to self-determination and accuse an\nIsraeli army general of war crimes against the Palestinians in the\ninternational court. Hence, it was surprising that the Blue & White party,\nwhich is made up of three Israeli army generals would admit those Arab leaders\nin their bloc. Many Israelis objected, and even within the bloc, there was an\noutrage, causing some members to leave the party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Leader of Blue & White, Benny Gantz and another former IDF chief, Gabi Ashkenazi agreed to Prime Minister Netanyahu\u2019s call to try to form a unity government with Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc. The Arab Joint List pulled out, thereby the disaster that would have endangered Israel\u2019s identity as being the State of the Jews was avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gantz announced very proudly that\nwithout him, Netanyahu cannot form a government. The thought that Netanyahu\nneeds him, gave him the power to increase his demands, which were\ndisproportional to the size of his bloc compared to the Likud. He may have had\nthe interest of the nation in mind and the urgent need for unity at this\ncrucial time, but he is taking advantage of the situation to try and force\nNetanyahu to give in to his demands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Does Gantz understand the need at this time for clear, bold strategic actions to maintain Israel\u2019s stability in the region? Israel must fortify the borders, making clear Israel\u2019s intention to defend them. Our neighbors must know exactly where Israel\u2019s red lines are and not to cross them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel’s borders with Egypt and\nLebanon are clear, and by annexing the Golan heights a few years back (and\nthanks to US recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights), the\nborder with Syria is clear. These neighbors know where the line is located, but\nnot so on the eastern border. The eastern border is problematic as well as\nJudea and Samaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we have the opportunity to apply national law (annexation) to the Jordan Valley and Northern Dead Sea region. This will prevent confusion and uncertainty. With the help of President Trump\u2019s peace plan, Israel can expand its communities, and direct transportation, road infrastructures in the Valley to link the eastern area to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gantz is concerned that this move\nwill jeopardize the peace with Jordan. Therefore, he thinks Israel must first\nreceive Jordan’s approval before applying its law to the border. But empowering\nJordan with the right to define Israel\u2019s border, will also empower the most\nextremist among the Jordanians and will contribute to Jordan\u2019s instability. It\nis therefore in the best interest of Jordan and of maintaining the peace with\nIsrael that the eastern border is clearly set. The same is true regarding the\nPalestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are more than 300,000 Israelis\nin Judea and Samaria who must be connected to Israel proper. Even the Health\nMinistry agrees that annexing Judea and Samaria will provide better care in the\ncoronavirus crisis for all its citizens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The PA authority in the territory\nalso benefits from Israeli know-how and guidance in dealing with this crisis,\nthereby increasing the stability of the region. The more certainty and\nstability Israel conveys, the more the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria will\nagree to live in peace with Israel. By opposing the application of Israel\u2019s\nsovereignty in these areas at this time, Gantz and his bloc uphold the left\u2019s\nnaive and false belief that the only way to peace is through appeasement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The worst period of Palestinian\nterror occurred when Israel compromised the most, and failed to determine clear\nboundaries. We must not allow this to happen again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At present, the Knesset (Israel\u2019s parliament) is still an interim government. However, the coronavirus crisis has now forced the two larger parties and their blocs to attempt to form an emergency unity government. Two main roadblocks are hindering the formation of a unity government. The Likud and Blue & White, continue to meet despite their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mainstorywidget-left","category-politics-in-israel","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":706,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions\/706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yeshuatami.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Second\nRoadblock: ESTABLISHING BORDERS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n