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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly meeting of the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on Sunday, November 18, 2018. (Abir Sultan / Pool via AP) (Associated Press)
TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he would take over the defense minister's portfolio, rejecting calls for the dissolution of his government, even though early elections seemed increasingly difficult. more likely.
Netanyahu said that going to the polls in the face of violent clashes with militants in Gaza was "irresponsible" by its coalition partners, who advocated early elections since the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman after a ceasefire in Gaza.
"Today, I am taking up the post of Defense Minister for the first time," Netanyahu said, speaking from Israel's defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, in a statement released on Tuesday. live at the top of the evening news.
"We are in one of the most complex security situations and for a period like this you are not overthrowing a government. During a period like this, you are not going to elections, "he said.
The sudden crisis of the coalition was triggered by the resignation of warmonger Lieberman, who had called for a much stronger response last week to the biggest wave of rocket attacks directed against Israel since the Israel-Hamas war of 2014. It states that the ceasefire agreement reached with Hamas leaders in Gaza will place southern Israel under a growing threat, similar to the one that Hezbollah's heavily armed group in Lebanon has opposed. north of Israel.
The departure of Lieberman and his party, Yisrael Beitenu, leaves the coalition with a majority of a seat on a parliament composed of 120 members. Netanyahu's other partners say this makes the government untenable and will leave the coalition exposed to extortion by any legislator until elections are scheduled for November 2019.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the pro-colonizing party Jewish Home has already threatened to bring down the government when he was not appointed defense minister. He and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also of Jewish Home, are expected to make a statement Monday to the media. If the party leaves the coalition, Netanyahu would be deprived of its parliamentary majority.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, another senior partner, said another year of instability of this type would hurt the economy. A meeting between him and Netanyahu on Sunday was meant to convince Kahlon to remain unsuccessful.
Netanyahu's Likud allies are already preparing to blame the coalition partners if the government bailout effort fails.
"I think that there is no reason to shorten the term of office of a national government, not even for a day, and it is currently in the hands of the minister of the Education and the Minister of Finance, "said Gilad Erdan, Minister of Public Security. .
No Israeli government has fulfilled its full mandate since 1988. Since then, elections have almost always been advanced due to a coalition crisis or strategic action taken by the Prime Minister to maximize your chances of reelection.
Although Netanyahu apparently flirted with the idea of advancing the elections himself in recent months, the current schedule is not ideal for him.
He was severely criticized for accepting the ceasefire in Gaza, particularly from within his own political base and in the southern Israeli workers' towns hit by rockets, which are generally the fiefs of his party, the Likud. But with Lieberman forcing his hand and the other partners in the coalition seeming impatient to go to the polls, he may not have a choice.
Most opinion polls show that Netanyahu easily secures reelection, which would secure him a place in Israeli history as the leader of the country that has served the longest. However, several factors could discourage him, including a possible indictment for bribery that could sideline him.
The police recommended that he be charged with corruption and breach of trust in two cases and questioned him at length. The country has long been waiting for the Attorney General's decision to lay charges or not.
Netanyahu irrevocably rejected the charges against him, calling them part of a witch hunt guided by the media, obsessed with dismissing him from office.
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The associate editor of Arated Heller in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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