The coalition agreement of the Likud, Shinui, the National Union, and the National Religious Party was signed in the Knesset this afternoon. The coalition will number 68 MKs. The new government will not be sworn in until tomorrow or Monday, however, because the final distribution of the Cabinet portfolios has not yet been completed.
The coalition guidelines state that Sharon's "Herzliya speech," in which he called for a Palestinian state in accordance with U.S. President George Bush's "vision of Middle East peace," will be the guiding principle. The National Union agreed to leave this reference in the guidelines, under the assumption that the issue is not relevant; both the NRP and the National Union insisted that the issue be brought for government approval before the onset of talks on the matter. National Union officials say that cooperation between themselves and the NRP will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Atty. Elyakim Ha'etzni of Kiryat Arba, a former MK of the now-defunct right-wing Techiya party, is upset with the National Union. "It's very painful," he told Arutz-7 today, "to hear them say that their presence in the government prevents Sharon from including Labor in the coalition. What, does someone think that if Sharon could have gone with Labor, he wouldn't have? It's clear that as soon as [Labor party leader] Mitzna leaves - and Sharon and Peres and Ben-Eliezer are working to make this happen - Labor will rush to join the government... Sharon and the right-wing no longer have the same political ideology. Sharon's ideology is now the same as Peres', and he has in fact destroyed the right-wing; first he turned the Likud to the center, and now he has neutralized the NRP and the National Union. As soon as the diplomatic conditions ripen for his diplomatic plan, Labor will replace the National Union and the NRP."
National Union representatives have said that that even for Sharon, a Palestinian state is still far off, as the Oslo War is still far from over and Yasser Arafat is still in charge of the PA. They say that their presence in the government will block a Palestinian state "for the short-term, and for the long-term as well."
The coalition guidelines state that Sharon's "Herzliya speech," in which he called for a Palestinian state in accordance with U.S. President George Bush's "vision of Middle East peace," will be the guiding principle. The National Union agreed to leave this reference in the guidelines, under the assumption that the issue is not relevant; both the NRP and the National Union insisted that the issue be brought for government approval before the onset of talks on the matter. National Union officials say that cooperation between themselves and the NRP will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Atty. Elyakim Ha'etzni of Kiryat Arba, a former MK of the now-defunct right-wing Techiya party, is upset with the National Union. "It's very painful," he told Arutz-7 today, "to hear them say that their presence in the government prevents Sharon from including Labor in the coalition. What, does someone think that if Sharon could have gone with Labor, he wouldn't have? It's clear that as soon as [Labor party leader] Mitzna leaves - and Sharon and Peres and Ben-Eliezer are working to make this happen - Labor will rush to join the government... Sharon and the right-wing no longer have the same political ideology. Sharon's ideology is now the same as Peres', and he has in fact destroyed the right-wing; first he turned the Likud to the center, and now he has neutralized the NRP and the National Union. As soon as the diplomatic conditions ripen for his diplomatic plan, Labor will replace the National Union and the NRP."
National Union representatives have said that that even for Sharon, a Palestinian state is still far off, as the Oslo War is still far from over and Yasser Arafat is still in charge of the PA. They say that their presence in the government will block a Palestinian state "for the short-term, and for the long-term as well."