Israel Matzav

Referendum bill passes cabinet, terrorist release still being discussed

Israel's cabinet  has approved the bill subjecting the transfer of land within 'Israel proper' to a referendum, but it is still discussing the release of 104 terrorists demanded by the 'Palestinians' as a condition for returning to 'peace talks.'

The cabinet on Sunday approved the draft of a bill mandating a national referendum if an accord with the Palestinians is reached that necessitates withdrawals from part of Jerusalem or land swaps. The bill will be brought to the Knesset for a vote on Wednesday.

"Any agreement, if it is achieved in negotiations, will be brought as a referendum. It is important that every citizen will directly vote on fateful decisions like these that determine the future of the state," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said during the meting.

The only two ministers to oppose the bill were Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz, both from Hatnua.

The bill, which is to be a basic law, will essentially say that any change in the status of territories where Israeli law applies will have to be brought before the country in the form of a referendum after the move passes the government and the Knesset.

The bill does not, however, call for a referendum on an agreement that calls for the transfer of any parts of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians, although there is some talk now of perhaps legislating a bill to that regard as well.

Yes, there ought to be a bill like that, but I would bet that there would be a lot more opposition to such a bill in the cabinet, and that Netanyahu would be pressured by the Obama junta to try to block it.

Meanwhile, Likud ministers are apparently being pressured by both sides of the terrorist release issue:

Likud ministers faced pressure from within the party to vote against the release of the prisoners. Army Radio on Sunday morning quoted a letter to ministers from a senior member of the Likud party, Meir Dahan, saying that they were freeing "the murderers of Jews with unbearable ease" as part of negotiations without any preconditions.

Likud ministers said Netanyahu had pressured them to support the prisoner release.

Who will win? What could go wrong?

UPDATE 3:09 PM

As of now, terrorist release vote is 11 for, 8 against, 3 undecided (and there's one missing).

Liveblog here.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Likud party, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, referendum law

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:49 PM