Tension Builds in Israeli Coalition Over Peace Talks
By JODI RUDOREN
A conflict between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a right-wing
political partner, Naftali Bennett, could reshape Israel’s governing
coalition at a key moment in talks with the Palestinians.
TEL
AVIV — Simmering tension between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of
Israel and one of his right-wing political partners boiled into open
hostility on Wednesday, threatening to reshape Israel’s governing
coalition at a critical moment in the American-brokered peace talks with
the Palestinians.
The
prime minister’s office issued a warning Wednesday morning to Naftali
Bennett, the leader of the religious-nationalist Jewish Home Party, that
if Mr. Bennett did not apologize for his harsh criticism of Mr. Netanyahu’s positions in recent days, he could lose his seat in the cabinet.
“There
is an expectation that he will apologize,” said an official in Mr.
Netanyahu’s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was
not authorized to talk to the news media. “The prime minister has
coalition alternatives.”
Mr.
Bennett, 41, who gave a fiery speech here Tuesday night denouncing a
recent suggestion by the prime minister’s office that some Jews in
far-flung settlements might live under Palestinian sovereignty in a
future peace deal, was uncharacteristically silent on Wednesday. His
spokeswoman did not return calls. His defense was left to Ayelet Shaked,
a leading Jewish Home lawmaker who said on Israel Radio that Mr.
Bennett had “never personally insulted the prime minister.”
“We
were elected not to be silent; we were elected to express our views,”
Ms. Shaked said. “Minister Bennett has great esteem for the prime
minister and did not speak against him, only against the idea. And the
entire Jewish Home faction thinks exactly as he does, as do its voters.”
She
added, “At the moment, we don’t see any benefit in leaving the
government so that Labor can join,” referring to the left-wing
opposition party.
The
political flap highlights the internal political dynamics in Israel
that many analysts see as a potentially fatal obstacle to any peace
deal. Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition partners have profound ideological
differences regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the
prime minister’s own willingness to compromise on issues like the future
of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees remains an open
question.
The cracks in the coalition came as Secretary of State John Kerry prepared to present a “framework”
laying out core principles for continuing the negotiations, which began
last summer. Mr. Bennett has said he will quit the coalition if Israel
signs a document that calls for a Palestinian state to be established
along the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, as it is
expected to do.
Mr.
Netanyahu, whose stated support of a two-state solution also faces deep
opposition from within his own Likud Party, distanced himself from Mr.
Kerry’s framework on Tuesday, saying, “Israel does not have to agree
with everything America presents.” But two other coalition partners —
Tzipi Livni, the justice minister, who is leading the negotiations, and
Yair Lapid, the centrist finance minister — are likely to leave the
government if Israel does not continue to support Mr. Kerry’s
initiative.
“The
more serious these negotiations get, the more fragile this coalition
is,” said Marcus Sheff, executive director of the Israel office of the
Israel Project, an advocacy group. “We’re looking at clearly stated and
different political viewpoints, and those are going to be articulated
more as the process progresses.”
The leader of the Labor Party has promised
Mr. Netanyahu a “safety net” to pursue peace with the Palestinians, but
it is unclear whether, if Mr. Bennett were pushed out, the party would
agree to join the coalition before a framework was presented or signed.
The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, long a political partner to Mr. Netanyahu
but not a member of the current coalition, might also join, depending
on what happens with a plan to draft more yeshiva students into the
Israeli Army.
Recent
polls have shown that Mr. Netanyahu faces no serious challenge for the
premiership, and that if new elections were held, Likud and its ally,
Yisrael Beiteinu, would most likely gain seats. Some analysts see this
as an opportunity for Mr. Netanyahu to force a break from the extreme
pro-settler wing of Likud and move to the center, perhaps even by
forming a new party, an Israeli political pastime.
“Netanyahu
on one hand is trying to show he has options,” said Gideon Rahat, a
political scientist at Hebrew University and a researcher at the Israel
Democracy Institute. “But his main problem was and remains with the
Likud. The party is very right-wing and will make it difficult for him
to reach an agreement, if that’s what he wants.”
Mr.
Bennett, a former high-tech millionaire, was once Mr. Netanyahu’s top
aide, but they parted unhappily. Mr. Netanyahu was forced to include the
Jewish Home in the governing coalition because Mr. Bennett partnered
with Mr. Lapid, but that relationship has frayed: Mr. Bennett and Mr.
Lapid used to refer to each other as brothers, but have lately
downgraded to cousins. The prime minister’s office has blamed Mr.
Bennett for leaking sensitive information to journalists, and people who
have been in meetings with both men say they barely make eye contact.
The
conflict escalated over the weekend, when the prime minister’s office
floated the notion of Jewish settlers’ becoming minority citizens in a
future Palestinian state. The idea was roundly criticized by
Palestinians, settlers, Likud members and center-left politicians alike.
Mr. Bennett said it reflected “the loss of a moral compass,” and on
Tuesday night broadened his attack, declaring, “Our forefathers and
ancestors and our descendants will never forgive an Israeli leader who
gives away our land and divides our capital.”
The
official from the prime minister’s office declined to say whether Mr.
Netanyahu and Mr. Bennett had spoken since the cabinet meeting on
Sunday, or whether there was a deadline for Mr. Bennett to apologize.
Tzachi
Hanegbi, a Likud lawmaker who is close to Mr. Netanyahu, said Wednesday
morning that he could not recall such behavior by a cabinet member in
20 years. “If you are not prepared to accept the prime minister’s
policy, that’s fine, but why are you holding on to your seat in the
government?” Mr. Hanegbi asked in a radio interview. “What I know from
my discussions with the prime minister is that his patience with this
phenomenon is nearing the end of his ability to tolerate it.”
On
Wednesday afternoon, Limor Livnat, a Likud minister, said Mr. Bennett
had “gone too far,” adding, “I think there is a need for maturity, some
experience and a lot more respect from a minister in the government
toward the prime minister.”
Danny
Danon, the chairman of the Likud Central Committee and a leader of the
party’s far-right ranks, agreed that Mr. Bennett’s tone was
inappropriate but said he supported “the content of what he said,” and
hinted at a looming political challenge for Mr. Netanyahu.
“I
think what should be done is say it very clearly — ‘We will not abandon
our brothers and sisters in Judea and Samaria’ — but at the same time
not to make it personal,” Mr. Danon said in an interview, using the
biblical names for the West Bank. “I think Prime Minister Netanyahu
knows it very clearly that if he wants to advance this policy and this
idea, it will not pass within his own party.”
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