Four days left for the dissolution of the Knesset in the absence of a budget • Blue and white chairman claimed: no agreement, direction - elections •
Netanyahu and Gantz on the day of the signing of the coalition agreement
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Four days before the deadline for approving the state budget, representatives of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Deputy Prime Minister Bnei Gantz are trying to find a compromise that will prevent the dissolution of the Knesset.
"Israel Today" has learned that emissaries of the two personalities are discussing and coming up with various compromise proposals, but so far no formula has been found that will satisfy both parties.
While Chairman Ganz himself is trying, according to sources in blue and white, to maintain the integrity of the list.
Ministers in both parties, who have taken part in the talks in recent days, said they were not interested in the election and that "I hope a compromise is found that will prevent the unnecessary election."
However, they added that "at the moment the gaps are still too big and it does not seem possible to bridge them".
The chairman of the list, Ganz, said last night by lighting candles in the house of Minister Yizhar Shai that "there is no agreement," and that the party is facing an election.
Sources in blue and white claim that they will not be willing to compromise on the budget issue, and these basic talks will not mature until Netanyahu's actual commitment regarding the transfer of the budget and the closure of the possibility of running for election (before the rotation is implemented).
If no compromise is found, on Tuesday night, December 23, the Knesset will dissolve and Israel will go to another election.
The dissolution of the Knesset stems from the Basic Law: The Government, which stipulates that if the state budget is not approved within three months of the formation of the government, the Knesset dissolves automatically.
This principle was also enacted in the framework of the coalition agreements between the Likud and Blue and White, on the basis of which the unity government was formed.
The agreements also stipulate that the government was supposed to approve a biennial budget for the years 2021-2020 as early as the summer.
Shortly after the formation of the government, however, Netanyahu repeated it and decided that only the 2020 budget should be approved. Ganz demanded that the agreement be upheld, but due to the equality of power in the government, neither of them could force his opinion.
To prevent the fall of the government as early as the summer, MK Zvi Hauser (now a member of Saar's party) initiated a compromise that would postpone the moment of truth for three months.
The three months end on Tuesday.
Blue and White demanded two months ago that Netanyahu complete the approval of the 2021 budget by that date, in accordance with the spirit of the Hauser compromise.
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Katz claimed that in the short period of time, it will not be possible to complete the budget approval process and are therefore willing to complete the process in just about a month.
Ganz and his men are sticking to the original deadline which now, by all accounts, can no longer be met.
Due to these huge gaps, the chances of compromise seem slim.
In addition, within Blue and White there is a large core of opposition to any compromise with Netanyahu, so Gantz will have an internal difficulty in moving an agreement within his faction.
A group of MKs on the list made it clear to him that they would not be willing to compromise with Netanyahu regarding the budget, and according to sources involved in the details, even threatened not to continue with Ganz if he surrendered to Netanyahu again.