Israel Matzav

Oh my: Food fight in the coalition

Yesh Atid's Yaakov Perri is accusing Jewish Home's Naftali Bennett and Uri Ariel of 'killing peace' in what could be the beginning of a reshuffling of the coalition.

The pact between Jewish Home and Yesh Atid, by which neither agreed to enter Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition government last year without the other, is over according to Perry, who spoke on Mako's TV show "Meet the Press."

"In recent months there's a gaping chasm in national topics and topics of religion and state" between the two parties, remarked Perry.

That seemingly was less the case as recently as last December, when Bennett voted for a Yesh Atid law to give same sex couples equal tax breaks while the rest of his party abstained, after a compromise removed official recognition of such couples in the wording, saving Jewish Home from being perceived as supporting same sex couples.

The Yesh Atid minister hinting at the possibility that his party would leave following the collapse of talks, saying sharply "neither Bennett nor Ariel - with all of their hallucinatory and sabotaging statements - will decide if we sit in the government."

Netanyahu might want to go into a coalition with the Left, but I doubt that his own party will let him. Unlike Sharon, Netanyahu  does not have the support from his MK's to govern using a new party, and would likely have to go to new elections to try to do so.

In the meantime, Jewish Home, which has kept relatively quiet since the 'talks' collapsed, is telling the Left to calm down.

In response to Perry's caustic comments, Jewish Home fired back only a short reply, saying "the left needs to keep self-restraint even in times of distress."

Bennett reportedly gave members of his Jewish Home party orders not to soften their tone towards Justice Minister Tzipi Livni following the deal so as not to drive her from the coalition, saying "it's important not to celebrate too much, and to leave the platform for explaining the decision to (Finance Minister Yair) Lapid and Livni - they'll do that excellently."

Actually, he gave orders TO soften their tone. Faster, faster.... 

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Jewish Home party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Uri Ariel, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:27 PM