Israel's Arab party support pushes Gantz ahead of Netanyahu

[webfact]

Israel's Arab party support pushes Gantz ahead of Netanyahu

 

Memebers of the Likud party, sits next to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as he began talks with political parties over who should form a new government, at his residence in Jerusalem September 22, 2019. Menachen Kahana/Pool via REUTERS

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Arab-dominated Joint List party moved on Sunday to back the centre-left bloc of Benny Gantz, who is challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance, to form a new government.

 

With final results all but in, neither Gantz nor Netanyahu command a majority in parliament, so the Arab List's decision to end its usual policy of withholding support for any candidate in the wake of elections could nudge President Reuven Rivlin to ask Gantz to form a government.

 

Rivlin, who began consulting with party leaders on Sunday to discuss who should lead the country after no clear victor emerged from Tuesday's election, suggested Gantz and Netanyahu join forces, though it is uncertain who would be the senior partner.

 

Netanyahu's right-wing Likud failed, for the second time in five months, to secure a clear election victory. The centrist Blue and White party led by ex-armed forces chief Gantz has a slight lead with nearly all votes counted.

 

No party drawn from the 21% Arab minority has ever been part of an Israeli government. But an increased turnout saw the Joint List win 13 seats, making it the third largest grouping.

 

This would provide an outlet to voice Arab complaints of discrimination in Israeli society and give a bigger platform to Arab parties which differ markedly with those drawn from the country's Jewish majority on many political issues.

 

"We want to bring an end to the era of Netanyahu, so we recommend that Benny Gantz be the one to form the next government," party head Ayman Odeh told Rivlin on Sunday as part of consultations to form a new government coalition.

 

Joint List's support does not mean it will sit in the governing coalition, but its backing gives Gantz's centre-left bloc 57 seats, compared to Netanyahu's right-wing bloc of 55.

 

Netanyahu denounced the Arab party support of Gantz. He said it meant only two choices -- "a minority government that leans on those that reject Israel as a Jewish, democratic state," or a "broad national government".

 

Gantz has so far rebuffed Netanyahu's calls to join a unity government.

 

Near-final results show Blue and White will be the largest single party in the new parliament with 33 of the 120 seats, while Likud has won 31 seats, three less than it had before.

 

In a meeting with Likud party leaders on Sunday, Rivlin said it was up to the "two biggest parties, the first and second that are almost equal in size, to join forces ... so that you together manage and establish a system that brings a stable government."

 

"This is what the people want. None of us can ignore that," he said.

 

The president's role is largely ceremonial, but it includes consulting with factions and choosing which party leader has the best chance at forming a coalition.

 

There were only narrow differences in the two main parties' campaigns on many important issues during the campaign. An end to the Netanyahu era would be unlikely to bring significant changes in policy on relations with the United States, the regional struggle against Iran, or the Palestinian conflict.

 

Netanyahu and Gantz are now seeking other potential coalition allies, prominent among whom is the far-right former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman. He secured eight seats for his Yisrael Beitenu party, making him a potential kingmaker.

 

Lieberman on Sunday reiterated his call for a unity government and said he would not recommend either candidate in his meeting with Rivlin.

 

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by James Drummond and David Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-23

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[legend49]

Bye Bye Benjamin good mate of Drumpff. Boris in UK you are next start hiding your money.

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

We want to bring an end to the era of Netanyahu, so we recommend that Benny Gantz be the one to form the next government," party head Ayman Odeh told Rivlin on Sunday as part of consultations to form a new government coalition.

Bye bye netanyahu, you won’t be missed. 

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, legend49 said:

Bye Bye Benjamin good mate of Drumpff. Boris in UK you are next start hiding your money.

 

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Bye bye netanyahu, you won’t be missed. 

The thing is, it's dubious that a new government can be formed under Gantz. Anti-Arab bigotry will keep most of the remaining Knesset members from joining a Gantz administration.

[Morch]

 

Well, it's certainly a positive move by Arab legislators, and kudos for Odeh making it happen. Hardly trivial as the party he heads is composed out of four factions, at least one of them usually firmly against any such open form of cooperation.

 

Worth bearing in mind that's a recommendation to the President as to who is to be tasked with trying to form a coalition. It doesn't imply full, unconditional support or endorsement. It doesn't even imply seeking to be an active part of the coalition or participate in government (differing views on these issues between the party's factions).

 

 

[spidermike007]

Netanyahu will be missed by very few people throughout the world. He is a warmonger, he is a terrible negotiator, like his close friend Trump, and he is a hazard to the planet. He stifles any chance of peace with the Palestinians. He is a blight on the face of Israel. This is really good news. Finally, the people seem to be waking up to the reality of this monster.

[Jingthing]

Netanyahu will be missed by very few people throughout the world. He is a warmonger, he is a terrible negotiator, like his close friend Trump, and he is a hazard to the planet. He stifles any chance of peace with the Palestinians. He is a blight on the face of Israel. This is really good news. Finally, the people seem to be waking up to the reality of this monster.

Yeah Bibi is no prize and it would be great to see him gone but I'd curb your enthusiasm about who might replace him. There was no mandate at all for significant change on policy issues.

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[NoBrainer]

This Reuters article looks like more left wing propaganda, and wishful thinking, to me. I think that the status quo still has a pretty good shot at forming a coalition government. The back room dealing is ramping up.

[placnx]

Is there a moderate core with a potential leadership in Likud that can annul the link with religious parties and definitively dump Netanyahu? Could Likud continue with a minimum of defections? Something has to give in Likud for Lieberman's party to join in a unity government. Could such a government get serious about a two-state solution? It's the ultimate question.

[Morch]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Netanyahu will be missed by very few people throughout the world. He is a warmonger, he is a terrible negotiator, like his close friend Trump, and he is a hazard to the planet. He stifles any chance of peace with the Palestinians. He is a blight on the face of Israel. This is really good news. Finally, the people seem to be waking up to the reality of this monster.

 

Netanyahu is many things. But your rant is off mark.

 

To start with, he's not gone yet. Until he does, even if they have to call a new elections, he remains in power.

 

Missed by very few people? About half the electorate in Israel would support him. Trump supporters seem to like him well enough. And then there are various other right wing groups and voters throughout Europe and such.

 

Warmonger? No major wars started during his terms. At least not more so than past Israeli Prime Ministers.

 

Terrible negotiator? Do tell. I think you just tossed it in as leftover from your repetitive Trump rants. To date he managed to form several coalitions, that's not all that easy in Israeli politics. He also managed to mostly avoid committing to any effective or permanent issues regarding the Palestinians - might not be a good thing from your or my point of view, but different for his agenda and his crowd.

 

Stifles any chance for peace with the Palestinians - there's that. But it's also ignoring the fact that the Palestinians themselves aren't doing all that much to achieve peace either.

 

What, in reality, did bite into his support was a combination of corruption charges, the macro-micro gaps gaps in Israel's economy, higher voter turnout, and the emergence of a half-credible alternative. All that, and de facto, Israel's right wing still got more votes.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, placnx said:

Is there a moderate core with a potential leadership in Likud that can annul the link with religious parties and definitively dump Netanyahu? Could Likud continue with a minimum of defections? Something has to give in Likud for Lieberman's party to join in a unity government. Could such a government get serious about a two-state solution? It's the ultimate question.

 

There's a potential core of resistance to Netanyahu in the Likud party. But for the most part, pushed out anyone who represented a half-viable challenge, and cowed the rest into submission. He's also immensely popular with the party's voter base. So openly going against him, without assurances it wouldn't backfire is a risk most of them won't take.

 

Annul the link with religious parties? Doubt it. There are always some next elections, and demographics go with the orthodox. Changing that would require more guts and foresight than currently on offer.

 

But defections - yes, I think that's one issue that's gonna be kinda big - for both major parties. Seeing as the ideologies of some aren't all that different, it might be possible. Maybe easier for the Likud to keep the ranks together, as the opposing party is more of an ad-hoc collection of interests.

[Rimmer]

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