Israel Matzav

Barak to have veto power over 'settlements' after all

Ten days ago, I reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu was appointing a committee that would be empowered to approve 'settlement construction,' thus removing that approval from the hands of Defense Minister Ehud Barak for the first time since the Netanyahu-Barak government took power. In one of those stories that gets released at the last minute before the Sabbath in the hope that it won't be noticed (note that Barak Ravid writes that this came out on Thursday, but that Haaretz played along by not posting this on their website until Friday afternoon), it has been disclosed that Barak will still retain veto power over all 'settlement construction.'

Netanyahu is due to submit the committee's formation to the cabinet's approval on Sunday.

However, an examination of the details of that submission reveals that the defense minister's authority on West Bank issues remains untouched.

Stating the panel's official mandate, the proposal said that the committee would discuss unregulated settlement construction on state-owned and private lands in the West Bank, and form government policy on the matter; discuss government policy on principled issues surfacing in court appeals concerning the West Bank; discuss ongoing settlement matters, and anything the premier wishes to raise related to settlement issues.

The mandate's vague and general wording, especially that of the last clause, raises questions as to its de-facto jurisdiction. These doubts seem to be supported by the clarification attached to the proposal written by legal adviser to the Prime Minister's Office, Shulamit Barnea-Farago.

"The decision does not diminish the prime minister and defense minister's authority, as stated in government decisions, according to which the defense minister has the authority to approve construction and planning in the West Bank," Barnea-Farago wrote.

Barak did not voice his official position concerning the formation of the ministerial committee on settlements, with the proposal drafted ahead of Sunday's cabinet meetings stating that the defense minister has not yet conveyed his stance.

In addition, the proposal indicates that the panel provides an automatic majority to right-wing ministers.

Other than Netanyahu, Barak and Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, the panel will also include Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz, Interior Minister Eli Yishai, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Minister Benny Begin, Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and Evironmetal Protection Minster Gilad Erdan.

It doesn't matter who is on the committee so long as Barak - whom the media refers to as the most unpopular man in Israel - retains veto power over construction in Judea and Samaria. there will be no construction.

Who will be taken in by this charade? Obviously, Netanyahu believes that the revenants will be.

I think I'm going to start referring to this government as the Barak-Netanyahu government, in recognition of the real power behind it.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Judea and Samaria construction

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:16 PM