Prime Minister Ariel Sharon braved another coalition crisis yesterday when he delivered a "diplomatic announcement" with so little substance that even the NRP could vote for it. Most of the Knesset Members of the National Union party, however, left the plenum for the vote; only Yuri Stern remained to vote in favor.
The opposition parties had gathered the required 40 signatures necessary to force the Prime Minister to attend a Knesset session and explain his diplomatic plans, including his statements about the Road Map, unilateral withdrawals, and the destruction of communities and outposts in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza). The opposition thus hoped to drive more deeply the wedge between Sharon and his coalition partners on the right, following Sharon's recent speeches in Herzliya and at the Likud convention.
In these latter speeches, Sharon said clearly that if there were no Road Map progress within a few months, Israel would "unilaterally disengage" from the PA and would "relocate" Yesha communities. In Herzliya, he also mentioned his promise to dismantle "unauthorized outposts." The opposition hoped that a similar speech in the Knesset would force the NRP and NU to vote against him, thus leading possibly to the toppling of the government.
Several Likud members were also unsure how they would vote - although MK Gilad Erdan explained, "In any event our aim is not to topple the government. We have learned our lesson [a reference to previous topplings of right-wing governments in 1992 and 1999, which led to Labor Party victories - ed. note]. We just want to 'restrict' him the same way that he would do if he were in our position."
Throughout the day, contacts were held between the Prime Minister's Office and the right-wing parties, in an attempt to find a formulation that everyone could agree on. The coalition parties made it clear that they would have to vote against any statement that included a commitment to dismantle Yesha communities. Tension was thus high throughout the day in the Knesset.
One possibility briefly considered by Likud strategists was to turn the vote into a "motion of confidence in the government," forcing all government ministers to vote in favor. This was soon rejected, however.
In the end, Sharon made a very lukewarm speech, mentioning the above issues with only the most meager of hints. Opposition MKs constantly interrupted him, calling out, "What about the settlements? What about the outposts?" Sharon ignored them and continued his dry reading of the carefully prepared speech. He saved his sarcasm for Arab MKs, saying, "Why is it that whenever we offer peace, the Palestinians jump out and yell against it?"
The Prime Minister began his remarks by stating that eight months ago, the government "accepted the Road Map plan, and added to it 14 reservations... The government continues today, as well, to be committed to the Road Map as it was accepted in the Cabinet decision." He also said that if the government reaches the conclusion that the PA "continues to reject our outstretched arm in peace" and is not fulfilling its Road Map commitments, then "we will be forced to take a series of steps that will ensure maximum security for the citizens of Israel with minimum friction with the Palestinian population... These steps will be taken after exhaustive dialogue with the coalition members, and in full coordination with our allies in the world, chiefly the United States."
The speech was in fact approved by a comfortable 51-39 margin, with the Knesset secretary forced to call out each name and manually register the votes because of an electrical problem with the electronic voting system. When NRP leader Housing Minister Effie Eitam and MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy each voted "in favor," they each answered questioning looks from the opposition with a gesture that said, "What did he say already? For that, I can vote in favor."
Politicians on the nationalist side of the political spectrum expressed satisfaction with Sharon's speech, and even some guarded optimism. Sharon said that future plans would be brought to the Knesset for approval, and said that nothing is presently on the agenda. He did say, however, that in addition to the task force he appointed to prepare Israeli alternatives in the event that the PA continues not to fulfill the Road Map, "I also have some ideas of my own."
Yesha Council leaders said that Sharon apparently was impressed by the large turnout at Sunday night's anti-disengagement rally, and especially from the large number of Likud MKs who showed up. MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said that he's happy that Sharon has "disengaged" himself from talk of disengagement and uprooting.
On the other hand, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has become the left-wing marker in the Likud of late, told the Jerusalem Post yesterday that he foresees the beginning of unilateral Israeli withdrawals in June of this year, if the current stalemate continues.
The opposition parties had gathered the required 40 signatures necessary to force the Prime Minister to attend a Knesset session and explain his diplomatic plans, including his statements about the Road Map, unilateral withdrawals, and the destruction of communities and outposts in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza). The opposition thus hoped to drive more deeply the wedge between Sharon and his coalition partners on the right, following Sharon's recent speeches in Herzliya and at the Likud convention.
In these latter speeches, Sharon said clearly that if there were no Road Map progress within a few months, Israel would "unilaterally disengage" from the PA and would "relocate" Yesha communities. In Herzliya, he also mentioned his promise to dismantle "unauthorized outposts." The opposition hoped that a similar speech in the Knesset would force the NRP and NU to vote against him, thus leading possibly to the toppling of the government.
Several Likud members were also unsure how they would vote - although MK Gilad Erdan explained, "In any event our aim is not to topple the government. We have learned our lesson [a reference to previous topplings of right-wing governments in 1992 and 1999, which led to Labor Party victories - ed. note]. We just want to 'restrict' him the same way that he would do if he were in our position."
Throughout the day, contacts were held between the Prime Minister's Office and the right-wing parties, in an attempt to find a formulation that everyone could agree on. The coalition parties made it clear that they would have to vote against any statement that included a commitment to dismantle Yesha communities. Tension was thus high throughout the day in the Knesset.
One possibility briefly considered by Likud strategists was to turn the vote into a "motion of confidence in the government," forcing all government ministers to vote in favor. This was soon rejected, however.
In the end, Sharon made a very lukewarm speech, mentioning the above issues with only the most meager of hints. Opposition MKs constantly interrupted him, calling out, "What about the settlements? What about the outposts?" Sharon ignored them and continued his dry reading of the carefully prepared speech. He saved his sarcasm for Arab MKs, saying, "Why is it that whenever we offer peace, the Palestinians jump out and yell against it?"
The Prime Minister began his remarks by stating that eight months ago, the government "accepted the Road Map plan, and added to it 14 reservations... The government continues today, as well, to be committed to the Road Map as it was accepted in the Cabinet decision." He also said that if the government reaches the conclusion that the PA "continues to reject our outstretched arm in peace" and is not fulfilling its Road Map commitments, then "we will be forced to take a series of steps that will ensure maximum security for the citizens of Israel with minimum friction with the Palestinian population... These steps will be taken after exhaustive dialogue with the coalition members, and in full coordination with our allies in the world, chiefly the United States."
The speech was in fact approved by a comfortable 51-39 margin, with the Knesset secretary forced to call out each name and manually register the votes because of an electrical problem with the electronic voting system. When NRP leader Housing Minister Effie Eitam and MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy each voted "in favor," they each answered questioning looks from the opposition with a gesture that said, "What did he say already? For that, I can vote in favor."
Politicians on the nationalist side of the political spectrum expressed satisfaction with Sharon's speech, and even some guarded optimism. Sharon said that future plans would be brought to the Knesset for approval, and said that nothing is presently on the agenda. He did say, however, that in addition to the task force he appointed to prepare Israeli alternatives in the event that the PA continues not to fulfill the Road Map, "I also have some ideas of my own."
Yesha Council leaders said that Sharon apparently was impressed by the large turnout at Sunday night's anti-disengagement rally, and especially from the large number of Likud MKs who showed up. MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said that he's happy that Sharon has "disengaged" himself from talk of disengagement and uprooting.
On the other hand, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has become the left-wing marker in the Likud of late, told the Jerusalem Post yesterday that he foresees the beginning of unilateral Israeli withdrawals in June of this year, if the current stalemate continues.