"If we want to guarantee our future as a Jewish and democratic state, there is no choice but to turn inward towards an area in which the Jewish majority will be protected and guaranteed." So said Ehud Olmert in the Knesset this afternoon when presenting his new government, adding that it "pained" him greatly to have to do so.
Shas Party MKs, among the other members of his new government, are expected to vote for Olmert's government as outlined in this speech. Shas MK Nissim Ze'ev said his party is against the withdrawal, and predicted that it would not take place.
Asked afterwards how Shas could vote for such a government, Shas Party spokesman Ro'i Lachmanovitch told Arutz-7, "Shas is obligated only by the letter it signed, giving it freedom not to vote for the withdrawal plan." He would not elaborate.
Olmert also said, "The continuation of scattered [Jewish] settlement all over Judea and Samaria creates an inseparable mix of populations that will endanger the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. The intention is to formulate the State of Israel's final borders with broad internal consensus, and with international support and recognition. From my standpoint, one thing is not on the agenda, and that is infinite waiting for a change by our neighbors."
"This does not mean that the settlement enterprise was entirely in vain," the man about to be voted as Israel's premier said, noting that the Jewish residents will remain in Jerusalem and elsewhere.
Turning to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Olmert offered his hand in peace, but said, "We will not wait forever. We cannot delay decisions that are fateful to our future waiting indefinitely... If we see that there are no serious talks, we will act in other ways. We will act in a way that is based primarily on what are the best borders for Israel. The borders must be defensible and must provide a solid Jewish majority. The new borders that will be stabilized in the coming years will be significantly different than those we have now. This [plan] is the very basis for this government."
Asked if Shas would be able to vote for such a speech, given its stated opposition to the unilateral withdrawal, party spokesm Ro'i Lachmanovitch told Arutz-7, "The only thing that obligates us is the letter we signed in the coalition talks, and nothing else." He then terminated the conversation.
MK Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the future opposition by virtue of his chairmanship of the largest opposition party, the Likud, spoke after Olmert. Netanyahu emphasized the existential threat faced by Israel from the direction of Iran and its nuclear designs. "This threat unites all of us, and we will stand with the government and cooperate with it regarding this matter," ex-Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Knesset.
Netanyahu attacked the government for being wasteful and large, especially in relation to its small size. "Never before have so many [government ministers] been so indebted to so few, to paraphrase Churchill," Netanyahu said. He added that the government's economic policies will surely lead to increasing unemployment, "possibly not immediately, but it will happen."
Turning to the diplomatic agenda, Netanyahu said, "First of all, if you give up everything now, what will be left to give during negotiations? Nothing. And to whom are you giving up the territory - to Hamas!" He also noted that Olmert's plan would cost "many billions of shekels." If we are to face and fight the threat from Iran, he said, "this costs money - and we can't use that same money to uproot Jews and move them from one hill to another. The two goals are mutually exclusive; it just doesn't work."
The Knesset vote on the government is expected to begin at 8 PM.
Shas Party MKs, among the other members of his new government, are expected to vote for Olmert's government as outlined in this speech. Shas MK Nissim Ze'ev said his party is against the withdrawal, and predicted that it would not take place.
Asked afterwards how Shas could vote for such a government, Shas Party spokesman Ro'i Lachmanovitch told Arutz-7, "Shas is obligated only by the letter it signed, giving it freedom not to vote for the withdrawal plan." He would not elaborate.
Olmert also said, "The continuation of scattered [Jewish] settlement all over Judea and Samaria creates an inseparable mix of populations that will endanger the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. The intention is to formulate the State of Israel's final borders with broad internal consensus, and with international support and recognition. From my standpoint, one thing is not on the agenda, and that is infinite waiting for a change by our neighbors."
"This does not mean that the settlement enterprise was entirely in vain," the man about to be voted as Israel's premier said, noting that the Jewish residents will remain in Jerusalem and elsewhere.
Turning to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Olmert offered his hand in peace, but said, "We will not wait forever. We cannot delay decisions that are fateful to our future waiting indefinitely... If we see that there are no serious talks, we will act in other ways. We will act in a way that is based primarily on what are the best borders for Israel. The borders must be defensible and must provide a solid Jewish majority. The new borders that will be stabilized in the coming years will be significantly different than those we have now. This [plan] is the very basis for this government."
Asked if Shas would be able to vote for such a speech, given its stated opposition to the unilateral withdrawal, party spokesm Ro'i Lachmanovitch told Arutz-7, "The only thing that obligates us is the letter we signed in the coalition talks, and nothing else." He then terminated the conversation.
MK Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the future opposition by virtue of his chairmanship of the largest opposition party, the Likud, spoke after Olmert. Netanyahu emphasized the existential threat faced by Israel from the direction of Iran and its nuclear designs. "This threat unites all of us, and we will stand with the government and cooperate with it regarding this matter," ex-Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Knesset.
Netanyahu attacked the government for being wasteful and large, especially in relation to its small size. "Never before have so many [government ministers] been so indebted to so few, to paraphrase Churchill," Netanyahu said. He added that the government's economic policies will surely lead to increasing unemployment, "possibly not immediately, but it will happen."
Turning to the diplomatic agenda, Netanyahu said, "First of all, if you give up everything now, what will be left to give during negotiations? Nothing. And to whom are you giving up the territory - to Hamas!" He also noted that Olmert's plan would cost "many billions of shekels." If we are to face and fight the threat from Iran, he said, "this costs money - and we can't use that same money to uproot Jews and move them from one hill to another. The two goals are mutually exclusive; it just doesn't work."
The Knesset vote on the government is expected to begin at 8 PM.