Gush Etzion Council head Sha'ul Goldstein says an alliance of right-wing opposition and coalition MKs can stop Prime Minister Olmert's plans, as outlined at Annapolis. MK Tzvi Hendel, on the other hand, says it won't work.
Goldstein explained to Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine why he called at the recent Yesha Council rally for unity among the Knesset's right-wing members.
"There are many right-wing MKs," Goldstein told Arutz-7, "but they are dispersed amidst various parties, and their power is therefore weakened. It would be best if they could all form one party, but that won't happen - so the next best thing is to have a political lobby as a basis for unity."
"During the days of the Disengagement," Goldstein continued, "we saw that we can have influence only before a government decision is made. Once the Cabinet decides, however, the chances of changing it are slim. We must therefore form a Knesset lobby on behalf of the Land of Israel in which MKs from both the opposition and the coalition will take part."
Hendel Skeptical
MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) says, "It's a cute idea, but in light of past experience, it won't work."
"I wish Goldstein luck in accomplishing it, but the truth is that we have bigger problems," Hendel said. "I had to spit blood just to unite the factions that now make up the National Union - but to create a political framework that will also include the MKs of Shas, United Torah Judaism, and others, is impossible."
This past Monday, a Shas party leader aroused some indignation at the anti-Annapolis protest rally by addressing the audience. Many in the right-wing are furious at Shas for remaining in the government coalition, thereby apparently enabling it to proceed with its plans to give up parts of Jerusalem and almost all of Judea and Samaria.
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), for instance, refused to take part in the rally because of the Shas participation. Hendel, on the other hand, said that he felt it was "very important to bring coalition members to the rally." Gush Etzion's Goldstein also objected to MK Eldad's decision to boycott the rally because of the participation of Shas.
Ideological Hair-Splitting
MK Hendel explained the difficulties he sees in forming a united front: "The more ideological a party is, the more there are various nuances. It is very hard for an ideological party to have a supermarket of ideas, like there is in the Likud or Labor."
Goldstein, on the other hand, says that "if a charter of principles in favor of the Land of Israel and against a Palestinian state is drawn up and presented by a group of both coalition and opposition MKs, including from Kadima, it will have force, and Olmert won't be able to pass his decisions in the Knesset."
Eldad and MK Effie Eitam, both of the National Union party, have been waging a strong campaign against the membership of Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu in the government.
PM Irked
MK Hendel said that the Prime Minister's Bureau was "very irked by our protest demonstration on Monday, and did everything it could to make sure Channel Two and other press outlets would give it barely any coverage. It bothers the Olmert people very much that after they knocked us down to the earth so brutally [during the Disengagement and Amona], tens of thousands of people still come together and sing, 'The Eternal Nation is not deterred by a long trek.' This bothers them a lot."