Israel Matzav

Herzog calls on Lapid and Livni to leave the government

Labor party leader Yitzchak Buzhi is calling on Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid and the Tzipi Livni party's Tzipi Livni to leave the government to protest the collapse of the 'peace talks.'

"The failure echoes in all areas. This is a government of failure that doesn't provide peace, only depression," the Labor leader said.

Herzog's comments came after Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said at The Jerusalem Post's Annual Conference in New York on Sunday that he would rather hold early elections than go back to the "grand deal" to extend peace talks which would have seen Israel release 26 terrorists, in addition to  400 other Palestinian prisoners of Israel's choosing.

"Liberman spoke the truth," Herzog stated at the Knesset plenum on Monday. "There is no choice other than an election." 

Meretz leader Zehava Gal-on attacked Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Hatnua chief Tzipi Livni for remaining in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition.

"Livni and Lapid are Netanyahu's collaborators in making the negotiations a charade, because nobody in the Netanyahu government truly has an interest in signing a peace agreement," Gal-on charged.

"The negotiations which the Netanyahu government has led are pointless, because they are meant only to serve the political survival of the coalition partners and not to really reach an accord," she stated.

Gal-on accused Livni and Lapid of lying to the public and breaking there promise to quit the coalition if the negotiations break down.

As much as I detest both Lapid and Livni, I have to ask: What would Herzog and Gal-on have done differently? Let's take some educated guesses.

They would have imposed a 'settlement freeze' on all of Judea and Samaria and on at least 'east' Jerusalem.

They would have done without Abu Mazen saying he recognizes Israel as a Jewish state. 

Other than that, what can they honestly say they would have done differently while still calling themselves Zionists?

Would they have given Abu Mazen the 'right of return' he wants? Doubtful. There wouldn't be a Jewish state left if they did. The left's whole point is that they want a state without 'Palestinians,' just like the 'Palestinians' want one without Jews.

Would they have gone back to the 1967 borders and expelled 600,000 Jews from their homes instead of the 100,000 this government sought to expel? If yes, I'd love to hear how they propose to pay for it.

So why do Herzog and Gal-on think that Lapid and Livni should pull out of the government? Do they want to try their luck at an election? Bet on it. At least until the next poll comes out. My guess is that this collapse drives the country even further right.

Labels: Middle East peace process, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yitzchak Herzog, Zehava Gal-On

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:04 PM