Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich participated this evening (Monday) in a municipal conference and a toast of the Religious Zionism party ahead of Rosh Hashanah and responded to reports about the resumption of negotiations between Prime Minister Netanyahu's office and the President's House on a compromise regarding judicial reform.
"I spoke today with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Prime Minister informed me of the efforts he is leading together with the President and other parties to reach broad agreements that will calm the spirits and strengthen the unity of the Israeli people. I welcome the Prime Minister's sincere and genuine effort to reach broad agreements and I think it is appropriate that the leaders of the opposition will also free themselves from the extremists and anarchists led by Shikma Bressler, who just this week called me and my friends here Nazis, and will show a true willingness to make concessions and compromises in order to achieve unity," clarified Smotrich.
According to him, "There is a real desire for talks, but there are also fundamental issues on which we should not give up. I told the Prime Minister that we are ready for talks and agreements, including concessions, in order to bring about unity in the nation, to keep the IDF united and strong and Israeli society whole. We are strongly opposed to dictates and to accepting ultimatums from those who lost the elections, did not win the people's trust, and are trying to forcefully dictate their position to us with the help of threats of refusal to serve and damage to the state's security. We will not agree under any circumstances to give up diversity in the selection of judges so that they represent all the public in the State of Israel and we will not agree to a situation where the opposition that lost In the elections can trample and dismiss the right in the committee for selecting judges."
"We are making great efforts to lead to honest talks, but unfortunately I see how, at the same time, Lapid and Gantz, who collapsed the talks at the President's residence, are preventing any possibility of dialogue, and they don't want agreements, they want to receive 100 percent of their dictates, and we won't support that. This is an anti-democratic trampling on the right that is trusted by the majority of the people."
"Yes to talks and agreements, no to dictates and rapacity towards the right that won the elections. This is our position and I sincerely hope that we will be able to lead to dialogue and agreements because this is in the national interest now at the beginning of the new year," concluded Smotrich.
Earlier, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the resumption of talks at the President's residence and clarified that Otzma Yehudit would not support the move.
"I am in favor of negotiations, but against surrender," clarified Minister Ben-Gvir and explained that "the reform is important for the State of Israel, it will balance the three authorities - the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Surrender in the President's House means humiliating more than half of the people."
According to him, "Folding in the President's house means a violation of right-wing values. Otzma Yehudit will not support this. I call on my friends, the heads of the coalition, make your voice heard, let's go against the surrender."
The Prime Minister's Office responded to Minister Ben-Gvir's statement that "Prime Minister Netanyahu is working to exhaust every possibility to reach a national agreement that will bring balance between the three authorities. If such an agreement is reached - no one will prevent its implementation."