With the government’s popularity plummeting, a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless garnered only 18 votes in the Knesset on Monday evening, falling far short of the necessary majority to pass in the 120-strong Knesset plenum.
The vote was boycotted by the coalition, whose heads stated earlier in the day that they would “not take part in political theater during wartime.”
Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman and Labor chief Merav Michaeli went further in their criticism, calling on Netanyahu to resign.
(17.06.2023)
ומי שהצביעו עבור קארין אלהרר ופנינה תמנו שטה היו גם חברי הכנסת של ש״ס, בהוראה של דרעי ואולי אף דרעי בעצמו, ובידיעת נתניהו, גנץ ולפיד.
האינטרס של לפיד וגנץ היה להראות ״הישג״ בהצבעה בכנסת, האינטרס של נתניהו היה להקפיא את ההפיכה המשטרית על מנת להגיע לוושינגטון ולמסמס את המחאה, והאינטרס של דרעי היה להמשיך את השיחות בבית הנשיא על מנת לסלול את דרכו לממשלה.
נתניהו ודרעי הבינו שללא נציגת האופוזיציה בוועדה תקום סערה ציבורית והכל יתפוצץ. לכן פעלו כפי שפעלו בתיאום מלא עם גנץ ולפיד.
ולכן גם ההודעה של גנץ ולפיד, שהם משהים את השיחות עד לבחירת נציג הקואליציה לוועדה וכינוסה, גם האמירה הזאת היא עבודה בעיניים, הכל בלוף.
זה פשוט המשך שיתוף פעולה, וחלק מאותה הסכמה של גנץ ולפיד להכשיר את דרעי ולהכניסו לממשלה.
גנץ ולפיד הרימו דגל לבן, ועשו מכירת חיסול של הציבור הליברלי במדינת ישראל.
לצערי זו האמת מאחורי השיחות בבית הנשיא וההצבעה בכנסת ביום רביעי.
(17.06.2023)
“The picture that arises is that everything that happened on Wednesday in the Knesset vote for the Judicial Appointments Committee was one big show, behind which there was a four-way deal between [National Unity Party chief Benny] Gantz and [Opposition leader Yair] Lapid on one side and Netanyahu and [Shas leader Arye] Dery on the other,” Lieberman posted on his Twitter account.
“The interest of Lapid and Gantz is to show ‘an achievement’ in the Knesset vote, Netanyahu’s interest is to freeze the [judicial overhaul] so he can go to Washington and soften the protests, and Dery’s interest is to continue the talks at the President’s Residence to pave his path back to the government,” he wrote.
(June 15, 2023)
But it may well be a Pyrrhic victory, writes @noa_landau
(Jun 12, 2023)
A compromise agreement between coalition and opposition lawmakers over the government‘s judicial overhaul is expected to be reached as early as Wednesday, opposition MK Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday.
According to the Yisrael Beitenu chairman, the agreement will come after the opposition candidate for the Judicial Appointments Committee, MK Karine Elharrar of Yesh Atid, is elected to the position.
Member of the opposition Avigdor Lieberman spoke at a demonstration in Be‘er Sheva and called on opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid to „immediately“ cease negotiations with the Netanyahu government.
„Any compromise is a self-goal for the opposition and a reinforcement of Netanyahu‘s messianic government. The continuation of these meetings is tantamount to legitimizing the people who crushed the country within three months and continue to crush it even more intensely every day,“ Lieberman said.
(12.09.2022)
Lieberman accuses Netanyahu of being behind claims made by Yossi Kamisa, a former aide, that the finance minister had commissioned him to kill a police superintendent 20 years ago.
„It is a blood libel,“ Lieberman said yesterday. „These are Netanyahu‘s methods, exactly like those of Goebbels and Stalin, to make the most severe, absurd accusation and repeat it a million times until people get used to the absurdity.“
(09.09.2022)
The criminal aspect of those allegations will be looked into by Attorney-General Gali Baharv-Miara. The political dimension of this horror story, less than 60 days before Israelis vote, is part of a much broader phenomenon: a tug of war between Benjamin Netanyahu and Lieberman over the „Russian“ vote.
No wonder Lieberman‘s first reaction to the allegations, even before he filed a criminal complaint against Kamisa, was a Facebook post entitled „Netanyahu is in panic“, not only denying all allegations but also mainly insinuating that the former prime minister is behind the affair. He posted in Hebrew, for all Israeli readers.
Lieberman, leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu Party, was asked to comment on allegations that he had offered to pay $100,000 to kill a police director.
He rejected the allegations and said this was a smear campaign orchestrated by Likud leader Netanyahu.
„It is clear that he understands that all that stands between him and being in power is Avigdor Lieberman,“ he said, pledging that „nothing will help him.“
The claims are “defamation, absolute lies, which were published with the intention of causing political damage when the political establishment is in the midst of an election campaign,” according to the complaint that was filed by Liberman’s lawyers on his behalf.
On Sunday Liberman called Likud party leader Netanyahu “the scum of the human race who knows no red lines,” for allegedly setting up the pay-for-murder accusation.
Rabbi Meir Mazuz, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party says in televised Torah lesson he hopes Bennett, Lapid, Liberman, their friends and their friend‘s friends soon depart this world
Rabbi Meir Mazuz, the head of the Tunisian Jewish community, fiercely attacks ministers Lapid and Lieberman over their policies toward ultra-Orthodox Jews
“If we need to, we’ll recruit one or two of the Joint List lawmakers without shame. We have a majority for the budget, we don’t need 61 votes,” racist Minister of Finance Avigdor Lieberman told Channel 12 on Monday evening. In response, the Joint List, said it “can’t be bought.” “We won’t support a budget that deepens the occupation and settlements, raises the prices of electricity and gas, raises the retirement age for women and disenfranchises the weak,” the Joint List statement read.
„Capturing the Prime Minister‘s Residence on Balfour Street was for us like capturing the Bastille“ prison in France, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman told his Yisrael Beytenu faction in the Knesset on Monday.
With Lapid apparently making strides in building government, New Hope leader nixes Likud offer for first slot in three-way rotation of premiership that would also include Yamina‘s Bennett; ‚Our commitment is to replace Netanyahu,‘ Saar says
The coalition of parties seeking to form a new government without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have hammered out an agreement on the assignment of senior cabinet positions if the coalition actually comes into being.
Naftali Bennett: The Yamina party chairman would be prime minister first, then foreign minister. Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid leader, would first serve as foreign minister, then prime minister. Ayelet Shaked: interior minister. Avigdor Lieberman: finance minister. Benny Gantz: The Kahol Lavan chief will continue to serve as defense minister. Gideon Sa’ar: justice minister. Merav Michaeli: The Labor Party chairwoman would serve as transportation minister.
This entails replacing the Knesset Speaker, taking over the chairmanship of the House Committee and the chairmanship of the Finance Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees as well, Maariv reported.
Liberman further stressed in discussions the need to advance immediately legislation that will prevent an indicted individual to contend for the premiership.
(09.01.2021)
Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman says the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters is “nothing” compared to what he claims Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning if the premier feels he’s lost the elections.
„Unite now, fight later,“ Bennett said at a Tel Aviv press conference in which he proposed passing a bill to freeze the current political situation for six months.
Liberman suggested a government of only Likud and Blue and White to deal with the coronavirus on Thursday in an interview with the Russian-language Channel 9.
„Agreed. We need to move forward,“ Gantz tweeted in response a list of demands that the Yisrael Beiteinu leader listed earlier Sunday in a Facebook post.
Joint List MK and Balad Chairman Mtanes Shehadeh said Saturday following Gantz and Netenyahu‘s statements that „the arab community has spoken, they want a change in their position and aim for an end to discrimination and racism. Netanyahu would die to disqualify them but could not, and Gantz would have liked to ignore them but he couldn‘t.“
Israel‘s right didn‘t get the victory it expected – but at least there‘s corona ■ Netanyahu‘s 2020 achievement: Boosting the Joint List ■ Left and right, Naftali Bennett and Amir Peretz are waging the same war
Announcement means center-left, Joint List bloc will have 62 Knesset seats to pass bill
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a blow on Thursday afernoon when Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman endorsed Blue and White leader Benny Gantz‘s efforts to pass a law that would prevent an indicted MK from forming a government.
The Yisrael Beiteinu chairman, who according to recent polls could once again be kingmaker and decide the leader of which political bloc would secure the backing of enough lawmakers to become prime minister after Israel‘s March 2 election, added that „Instead of driving two-and-a-half kilometers to the Knesset, he [Netanyahu] prefers to fly 9,500 kilometers to Washington.“
Bashing the premier, Lieberman said: „It‘s clear that Netanyahu worked very hard to escape [the immunity discussions], and it would be best if he kisses his immunity goodbye before he brings peace to the Middle East.“
For a decade, Netanyahu dominated Israel like few others since founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion, leaving a huge imprint on every sphere: diplomatic, economic, military.
But in 2019 – Netanyahu’s own annus horribilis, as Queen Elizabeth II referred to her own “horrible year” in 1992 – his utter dominance began to fade.
„Das wäre nicht passiert, wenn es nicht bereits zwei gescheiterte Versuche Netanyahus gegeben hätte, eine Koalition zu bilden. Alles deutet darauf hin, dass Netanyahu auch nach einer dritten Neuwahl kein Bündnis bilden kann.“ Denn weiterhin schließen mögliche Koalitionspartner eine Zusammenarbeit mit Netanyahu aus: Avigdor Lieberman und dessen Partei Israel Beitenu sowie das Bündnis Blau-Weiß von Benny Gantz.
Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman has told Benny Gantz‘s Kahol Lavan that he would join a narrow right-wing government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the party doesn‘t agree to let Netanyahu be first to serve as premier in a rotation agreement.
Lieberman‘s staff said on Tuesday that he was approached by Knesset members who asked him to enter a right-wing government to prevent Israel from going to a third election this year.
Weder die rechtsgerichtete Likud-Partei von Netanyahu noch Gantz‘ Mitte-Rechts-Bündnis Blau-Weiß konnte sich bei der Parlamentswahl im September eine Mehrheit sichern. Liebermans laizistisch-nationalistische Partei Israel Beitenu gilt seitdem als Königsmacher.
The survey, commissioned by Army Radio, showed 49% of Israeli-Arab citizens supporting the Joint List, made up of four separate Arab parties, backing Gantz from outside a coalition government even if it includes secular right-wing politician Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party.
According to reports in the Hebrew media, Gantz could offer Netanyahu a “compromise deal” that would force him to choose between including his religious allies in the coalition, and being prime minister first in any rotation deal.
Kingmaker and Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Lieberman also bashes FM Katz as ‚pathetic liar‘ and says that Likud can ‚go to hell‘ if they offer him rotation agreement
Rare move by Joint List in bid to ‚end the Netanyahu era‘ could give Kahol Lavan leader first chance at forming coalition ■ Lieberman: ‚Joint List members are enemies‘