This was the third Cabinet meeting that Olmert has headed, following Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke. The first meeting followed the stroke by only several hours, but in both the second and third meetings, he chose to attack the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria. Last week he noted the phenomenon of olive tree-cuttings, condemning them strongly and calling for justice to be meted out against the "wild people responsible for this." This, despite much evidence that the Arabs themselves, and not Jews, cut the branches of their own trees in order to prune them.
The Yesha Council has shown filmed footage of Arab farmers heavily pruning their own trees near Yitzhar in the Shomron, in a time-tested method of improving next year's harvest. The Council accused the Arabs of trying to use the issue and fan flames against the Jews in order to receive compensation from the Israeli government.
At today's Cabinet meeting, Olmert related to yesterday's violence in Hevron, threatening an iron hand against the Jews living there. Hevron's Jews say they refuse to accept the army's plans to evict 11 families from Jewish-owned land outside the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. A Hevron spokesman said that Olmert is causing a provocation, sending the forces to fight against the Jews and throwing them out of their homes, and then condemning and threatening the Jews for resisting.
Olmert's Status
Olmert will not assume the title of Prime Minister, but will rather remain Acting PM until the elections ten weeks from now - unless Ariel Sharon's condition changes for the worse. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will inform Olmert this afternoon that he continues to view Ariel Sharon's medical condition as one of "temporary incapacitation," as opposed to "permanent incapacitation." This, despite today's report that Sharon had entered a state of coma.
Doctors in Hadassah Hospital placed Sharon in an induced coma ten days ago, but even after stopping this treatment, Sharon has still not awoken. The doctors say they do not know when, if at all, he will wake up.
If in fact Mazuz declares Sharon "permanently incapacitated," any minister in Sharon's party - Kadima - can run for the position of Prime Minister, and the Cabinet will vote. A court petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against this arrangement, contending that the new Prime Minister must be chosen from Sharon's party at the time he was elected - namely, the Likud.
The national elections are to be held on March 28, no matter who is serving as Prime Minister at the time.
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Acting PM Olmert was dealt a minor blow this afternoon when he learned that he could either appoint Shimon Peres, Dalia Itzik and Chaim Ramon as ministers in his government, or have them run for Knesset on the Kadima Party list - but not both.
The three are former Labor Party members who recently joined Kadima.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz informed Olmert that Clause 6A of one of the Basic Laws - the "Knesset Law" - a Knesset Member who quits his party faction but remains in the Knesset cannot run for the next Knesset on behalf of a previously-existing party. The purpose of the law is to prevent MKs from being enticed to change parties in exchange for political favors.
The three Labor MKs in question in fact did just that, quitting Labor and joining Kadima with the hope of being appointed Cabinet ministers.
Olmert thus has some 15 ministerial portfolios to fill - two of his own, several left over from Ariel Sharon (including those forsaken by the resigning Labor Party ministers two months ago), and those given up today by the Likud ministers. One former Likud portfolio, Foreign Affairs, has been assigned to Kadima's Tzippy Livny. It appears that former Likud MKs Roni Bar-on and Ze'ev Boim will take the ministries of Housing and Infrastructures, according to Bar-on's choice, and Yaakov Edry will become Minister of Health.
Peres was to have been named Negev and Galilee Development Minister, and Itzik was set to return to the Communications Ministry.
The Yesha Council has shown filmed footage of Arab farmers heavily pruning their own trees near Yitzhar in the Shomron, in a time-tested method of improving next year's harvest. The Council accused the Arabs of trying to use the issue and fan flames against the Jews in order to receive compensation from the Israeli government.
At today's Cabinet meeting, Olmert related to yesterday's violence in Hevron, threatening an iron hand against the Jews living there. Hevron's Jews say they refuse to accept the army's plans to evict 11 families from Jewish-owned land outside the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. A Hevron spokesman said that Olmert is causing a provocation, sending the forces to fight against the Jews and throwing them out of their homes, and then condemning and threatening the Jews for resisting.
Olmert's Status
Olmert will not assume the title of Prime Minister, but will rather remain Acting PM until the elections ten weeks from now - unless Ariel Sharon's condition changes for the worse. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will inform Olmert this afternoon that he continues to view Ariel Sharon's medical condition as one of "temporary incapacitation," as opposed to "permanent incapacitation." This, despite today's report that Sharon had entered a state of coma.
Doctors in Hadassah Hospital placed Sharon in an induced coma ten days ago, but even after stopping this treatment, Sharon has still not awoken. The doctors say they do not know when, if at all, he will wake up.
If in fact Mazuz declares Sharon "permanently incapacitated," any minister in Sharon's party - Kadima - can run for the position of Prime Minister, and the Cabinet will vote. A court petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against this arrangement, contending that the new Prime Minister must be chosen from Sharon's party at the time he was elected - namely, the Likud.
The national elections are to be held on March 28, no matter who is serving as Prime Minister at the time.
==
Acting PM Olmert was dealt a minor blow this afternoon when he learned that he could either appoint Shimon Peres, Dalia Itzik and Chaim Ramon as ministers in his government, or have them run for Knesset on the Kadima Party list - but not both.
The three are former Labor Party members who recently joined Kadima.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz informed Olmert that Clause 6A of one of the Basic Laws - the "Knesset Law" - a Knesset Member who quits his party faction but remains in the Knesset cannot run for the next Knesset on behalf of a previously-existing party. The purpose of the law is to prevent MKs from being enticed to change parties in exchange for political favors.
The three Labor MKs in question in fact did just that, quitting Labor and joining Kadima with the hope of being appointed Cabinet ministers.
Olmert thus has some 15 ministerial portfolios to fill - two of his own, several left over from Ariel Sharon (including those forsaken by the resigning Labor Party ministers two months ago), and those given up today by the Likud ministers. One former Likud portfolio, Foreign Affairs, has been assigned to Kadima's Tzippy Livny. It appears that former Likud MKs Roni Bar-on and Ze'ev Boim will take the ministries of Housing and Infrastructures, according to Bar-on's choice, and Yaakov Edry will become Minister of Health.
Peres was to have been named Negev and Galilee Development Minister, and Itzik was set to return to the Communications Ministry.