By Yossi Verter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent most of the time at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset on Monday in his chair, hunched over a draft of his speech. Occasionally he cast an offended glance toward the podium. He took flak from the Knesset speaker, from the president of the country and from opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who ended a long period of silence with a particularly aggressive speech.
The only moment at which Netanyahu smiled was when Livni said, "I paid a political and personal price for my silence, and I regret that."
In a talk with reporters, Speaker Reuven Rivlin predicted that by the end of the current session, six months from now, the date of the next elections will have been set. In his view, the Knesset will not survive the current policy and political disputes.
Labor Party ministers said it is only a matter of time before they leave the government. Labor leader Ehud Barak came to his party's faction after the "loyalty law" was voted on in a cabinet meeting. He apologized to his MKs for not consulting with them before putting forward his own version of the legislation, which the cabinet rejected.
The Labor MKs discussed the political deadlock. Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog, who chaired the meeting, threatened to leave the coalition if direct negotiations with the Palestinians were not renewed by the end of the month, "unless something dramatic happens."
"There is no doubt that this session of the Knesset will be critical," Barak said. In other words, he is giving the coalition until the end of next March, well after the MKs' deadline. Barak hedged his prediction on the collapse of the coalition: "I would say it will happen at the end of December."
After the meeting the MKs hurried to listen to the speeches of Rivlin, Peres, Netanyahu and Livni.
Livni lashed out at Netanyahu, calling him weak, indecisive, incapable of speaking the truth, engaged in political survival games, exercising purely political considerations and so on and so forth.
Tzipi Livni said:
You have turned Israel into a weak, frightened, insular, self-conflicted country, which is losing its only friend in the world and is defying the leadership of the free world."
Afterward, Barak shook her hand warmly. "You delivered an excellent speech," he told her. "A true speech."
'Between statesmanship and partisanship'
President Shimon Peres sighed to Netanyahu. "To get up every morning is already good," Netanyahu replied encouragingly.
In contrast to his speech a year ago, this time Peres did not express confidence that Netanyahu would bring peace. The key sections of his remarks were aimed directly at the prime minister. The media focused on a trivial incident in which MKs from the National Union jeered Peres when he said that there is a majority in the Knesset supporting the two-state principle. The following passages from Peres's speech were especially noteworthy:
... If we remain passive, the negative tendencies will fuel the bloody conflict indefinitely and are liable to endanger our ability to preserve Israel's Jewish and democratic character.
Peres has told Bibi the truth: Israel's Jewish and democratic character is endangered by those who allow history to pass them by because of "short-term needs."
The largest political upshot from the events of this week is that Netanyahu's two biggest defenders, Peres and Barak, who spent the past 18 months praising the man to everyone in Israel and the world and insisting that he has changed, are beginning to wearily despair of their client.
This week, Yaakov Katz was interviewed on Israel Radio. The implication of his remarks there was that if Netanyahu decides to renew the construction freeze in the settlements, the National Union will topple him from power.
"If he decides on a freeze, it will no longer depend on us. He will fall from within. Likud will capsize him. The coalition will pull him down," he said.
Katz believes that, should it come to elections, Netanyahu will pull an about-face on pledges he made in his Bar-Ilan speech last year.
"Netanyahu will say he made a mistake when he declared his support for two states for two peoples. After all, he won't be able run on the same platform as Livni," he said. "Afterward he will be reelected and pursue the same line again."
Katz defended Livni, who he was seen huddling with in the Knesset.
She is a friend of mine," he said. "I have a very high regard for her integrity. I prefer one like her, who follows a crooked path in a straight way, than someone who follows a crooked path in a crooked way.
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The only moment at which Netanyahu smiled was when Livni said, "I paid a political and personal price for my silence, and I regret that."
In a talk with reporters, Speaker Reuven Rivlin predicted that by the end of the current session, six months from now, the date of the next elections will have been set. In his view, the Knesset will not survive the current policy and political disputes.
Labor Party ministers said it is only a matter of time before they leave the government. Labor leader Ehud Barak came to his party's faction after the "loyalty law" was voted on in a cabinet meeting. He apologized to his MKs for not consulting with them before putting forward his own version of the legislation, which the cabinet rejected.
The Labor MKs discussed the political deadlock. Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog, who chaired the meeting, threatened to leave the coalition if direct negotiations with the Palestinians were not renewed by the end of the month, "unless something dramatic happens."
"There is no doubt that this session of the Knesset will be critical," Barak said. In other words, he is giving the coalition until the end of next March, well after the MKs' deadline. Barak hedged his prediction on the collapse of the coalition: "I would say it will happen at the end of December."
After the meeting the MKs hurried to listen to the speeches of Rivlin, Peres, Netanyahu and Livni.
Livni lashed out at Netanyahu, calling him weak, indecisive, incapable of speaking the truth, engaged in political survival games, exercising purely political considerations and so on and so forth.
Tzipi Livni said:
You have turned Israel into a weak, frightened, insular, self-conflicted country, which is losing its only friend in the world and is defying the leadership of the free world."
Afterward, Barak shook her hand warmly. "You delivered an excellent speech," he told her. "A true speech."
'Between statesmanship and partisanship'
President Shimon Peres sighed to Netanyahu. "To get up every morning is already good," Netanyahu replied encouragingly.
In contrast to his speech a year ago, this time Peres did not express confidence that Netanyahu would bring peace. The key sections of his remarks were aimed directly at the prime minister. The media focused on a trivial incident in which MKs from the National Union jeered Peres when he said that there is a majority in the Knesset supporting the two-state principle. The following passages from Peres's speech were especially noteworthy:
... If we remain passive, the negative tendencies will fuel the bloody conflict indefinitely and are liable to endanger our ability to preserve Israel's Jewish and democratic character.
Peres has told Bibi the truth: Israel's Jewish and democratic character is endangered by those who allow history to pass them by because of "short-term needs."
The largest political upshot from the events of this week is that Netanyahu's two biggest defenders, Peres and Barak, who spent the past 18 months praising the man to everyone in Israel and the world and insisting that he has changed, are beginning to wearily despair of their client.
This week, Yaakov Katz was interviewed on Israel Radio. The implication of his remarks there was that if Netanyahu decides to renew the construction freeze in the settlements, the National Union will topple him from power.
"If he decides on a freeze, it will no longer depend on us. He will fall from within. Likud will capsize him. The coalition will pull him down," he said.
Katz believes that, should it come to elections, Netanyahu will pull an about-face on pledges he made in his Bar-Ilan speech last year.
"Netanyahu will say he made a mistake when he declared his support for two states for two peoples. After all, he won't be able run on the same platform as Livni," he said. "Afterward he will be reelected and pursue the same line again."
Katz defended Livni, who he was seen huddling with in the Knesset.
She is a friend of mine," he said. "I have a very high regard for her integrity. I prefer one like her, who follows a crooked path in a straight way, than someone who follows a crooked path in a crooked way.
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