Yesterday's dramatic Knesset session began at 4 PM with an address by Labor Party faction head MK Dalia Itzik, who initiated the special session. "You are tired," she spit out at Sharon. "I admit that even I fell victim to your charms, and was convinced by your promises to bring peace and security. But I was sorely disappointed." MK Yossi Sarid of Meretz was even more biting, saying he never believed Sharon at all, and that Sharon seems to care about nothing except for getting through the police investigations against his family. He attacked the Prime Minister for not being willing to talk with Assad.
Other choice selections from the session:
MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said that Labor is like the boy who kills his parents and then asks for compassion because he's an orphan: "You stand there with a stopwatch, and demand peace, and demand an end to terrorism - when it was you [the opposition] who caused the problem in the first place!"
MK Eitan Cabel (Labor): "Ariel Sharon has merited something that only the Torah has merited - and in much less time. It is said that the Torah has 70 interpretations, over the course of thousands of years. But you, Mr. Prime Minister, in only a few years, merit having 70 interpretations to everything you say. Everyone asks, what did he mean this morning? What did he mean this afternoon? In Herzliya he said this, in the Likud he didn't say that, etc. Mr. Prime Minister, come right out and say what you mean already!" Cabel ended his speech by yelling, "We must leave Gaza right now!"
MK Melli Polishuk-Bloch (Shinui) said that she is not at all bothered by the prospect of the dismantling of outposts, "which, in the best case, have 20 fanatics - most of them with American accents..." MK Michael Eitan (Likud) called out, "Don't you have any feelings? You make fun of those who leave a land where they have great material wealth and come here to help us, and you mock them - while at the same time kneeling before the other Americans [the U.S. government] who are still there." Polishuk, somewhat taken aback at Eitan's attack, defended herself, "I do have feelings, and I did not mean to make fun of their accent. I was just saying that they just recently arrived in Israel, and are trying to determine our agenda." She did not mention anything about the Russian immigrants in her own party, such as MK Yigal Yasinov.
MK Avraham Ravitz (United Torah Judaism): "You [Mr. Sharon] say [in response to Assad's offer to negotiate] that it would be hard to remove 20,000 Jews living there. By the same token, it will be hard to remove 200,000 Jews from Judea, Samaria and Gaza." Ehud Olmert reacted defensively: "Whoever said anything about 200,000?" Ravitz also said that the Jews living in the Golan could be given double citizenship, Israeli and Syrian, and would not have to leave their homes.
MK Yuri Stern (National Union): "There is nothing to talk about regarding the Golan. If Syria truly wants peace, then it will allow borders that have stabilized themselves to remain that way, just like was done after World War II."
MK Gilad Erdan, speaking to reporters in the Knesset, said, "There is no reason to help out and rehabilitate Assad [by negotiating with him] as we did with Arafat."
MK Sha'ul Yahalom (National Religious Party): "Even though you were not there at the [Yesha] demonstration last night, Mr. Prime Minister, you were the star of the evening. Everyone quoted you and talked about you. Allow me, as well, to read aloud something you wrote regarding the importance of Netzarim when Yitzchak Rabin was Prime Minister. You said that Netzarim is the 'last defense line of the State,' and that the residents 'will remain there forever,' [and much more of the like]..."
MK Nissim Ze'ev (Shas): "In this week's Torah portion, we read that the burning bush was not consumed, and that when Moses went to check, he was told to first remove his shoes, 'for this is Holy land!' It is the same today: The People of Israel will not be consumed - we are not tired! The nation is strong! And before you try to weaken us and give away land, realize that this is Holy Land!"
MK Michael Eitan (Likud): "The opposition keeps saying that if we would only give away Gaza, or remove the outposts, or the like, we would have peace! A magic solution! But tell me: Why didn't you do this when you were in power? Who stopped you? Did Sarid prevent Peres from doing this? Or vice versa? Or did the two of you stop Barak from doing it? ... Sarid keeps saying that Sharon doesn't have a plan, but in fact he does - the Road Map that he presented to the Likud convention..."
MK Gideon Saar [Likud faction whip] was particularly biting towards Labor: "Your irrelevancy as a party competes only with your tendentiousness... You have only 19 Knesset seats, your lowest ever, and the public has so much confidence in you as the opposition that polls show that it plans to keep you there even longer!.. [Regarding the diplomatic process], you make demands only of the Jews, and never of the Palestinians!"
Prime Minister Sharon then spoke, followed by Opposition Leader Shimon Peres, who was in very jocular spirits - except for when he sparred with Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid; the mutual anger between them was palpable. At one point, Trade Minister Ehud Olmert called out, "You say that Israel has not fulfilled its commitments - but is there anything you can say about the PA's lack of fulfillment?" Peres, only slightly abashed, said, "Yes, the Palestinians have not fought terror - but it is doubtful whether you have given them the tools to do so." Olmert and others in the Likud were visibly angered by this response.
Other choice selections from the session:
MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said that Labor is like the boy who kills his parents and then asks for compassion because he's an orphan: "You stand there with a stopwatch, and demand peace, and demand an end to terrorism - when it was you [the opposition] who caused the problem in the first place!"
MK Eitan Cabel (Labor): "Ariel Sharon has merited something that only the Torah has merited - and in much less time. It is said that the Torah has 70 interpretations, over the course of thousands of years. But you, Mr. Prime Minister, in only a few years, merit having 70 interpretations to everything you say. Everyone asks, what did he mean this morning? What did he mean this afternoon? In Herzliya he said this, in the Likud he didn't say that, etc. Mr. Prime Minister, come right out and say what you mean already!" Cabel ended his speech by yelling, "We must leave Gaza right now!"
MK Melli Polishuk-Bloch (Shinui) said that she is not at all bothered by the prospect of the dismantling of outposts, "which, in the best case, have 20 fanatics - most of them with American accents..." MK Michael Eitan (Likud) called out, "Don't you have any feelings? You make fun of those who leave a land where they have great material wealth and come here to help us, and you mock them - while at the same time kneeling before the other Americans [the U.S. government] who are still there." Polishuk, somewhat taken aback at Eitan's attack, defended herself, "I do have feelings, and I did not mean to make fun of their accent. I was just saying that they just recently arrived in Israel, and are trying to determine our agenda." She did not mention anything about the Russian immigrants in her own party, such as MK Yigal Yasinov.
MK Avraham Ravitz (United Torah Judaism): "You [Mr. Sharon] say [in response to Assad's offer to negotiate] that it would be hard to remove 20,000 Jews living there. By the same token, it will be hard to remove 200,000 Jews from Judea, Samaria and Gaza." Ehud Olmert reacted defensively: "Whoever said anything about 200,000?" Ravitz also said that the Jews living in the Golan could be given double citizenship, Israeli and Syrian, and would not have to leave their homes.
MK Yuri Stern (National Union): "There is nothing to talk about regarding the Golan. If Syria truly wants peace, then it will allow borders that have stabilized themselves to remain that way, just like was done after World War II."
MK Gilad Erdan, speaking to reporters in the Knesset, said, "There is no reason to help out and rehabilitate Assad [by negotiating with him] as we did with Arafat."
MK Sha'ul Yahalom (National Religious Party): "Even though you were not there at the [Yesha] demonstration last night, Mr. Prime Minister, you were the star of the evening. Everyone quoted you and talked about you. Allow me, as well, to read aloud something you wrote regarding the importance of Netzarim when Yitzchak Rabin was Prime Minister. You said that Netzarim is the 'last defense line of the State,' and that the residents 'will remain there forever,' [and much more of the like]..."
MK Nissim Ze'ev (Shas): "In this week's Torah portion, we read that the burning bush was not consumed, and that when Moses went to check, he was told to first remove his shoes, 'for this is Holy land!' It is the same today: The People of Israel will not be consumed - we are not tired! The nation is strong! And before you try to weaken us and give away land, realize that this is Holy Land!"
MK Michael Eitan (Likud): "The opposition keeps saying that if we would only give away Gaza, or remove the outposts, or the like, we would have peace! A magic solution! But tell me: Why didn't you do this when you were in power? Who stopped you? Did Sarid prevent Peres from doing this? Or vice versa? Or did the two of you stop Barak from doing it? ... Sarid keeps saying that Sharon doesn't have a plan, but in fact he does - the Road Map that he presented to the Likud convention..."
MK Gideon Saar [Likud faction whip] was particularly biting towards Labor: "Your irrelevancy as a party competes only with your tendentiousness... You have only 19 Knesset seats, your lowest ever, and the public has so much confidence in you as the opposition that polls show that it plans to keep you there even longer!.. [Regarding the diplomatic process], you make demands only of the Jews, and never of the Palestinians!"
Prime Minister Sharon then spoke, followed by Opposition Leader Shimon Peres, who was in very jocular spirits - except for when he sparred with Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid; the mutual anger between them was palpable. At one point, Trade Minister Ehud Olmert called out, "You say that Israel has not fulfilled its commitments - but is there anything you can say about the PA's lack of fulfillment?" Peres, only slightly abashed, said, "Yes, the Palestinians have not fought terror - but it is doubtful whether you have given them the tools to do so." Olmert and others in the Likud were visibly angered by this response.