Negotiations with the opposition on a softened version of the bill to reduce reasonableness began two weeks ago. The person who led the move was Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who was very concerned about the implications of the law's approval on the IDF, which was torn between supporters and opponents of the reform against the backdrop of threats of refusal by pilots and other forces.
The Knesset approved the cancellation of the reasonableness grounds
From the moment the Air Force issued their letter threatening not to report for duty if the law was passed, Galant understood that this put the government in a position of having no choice but to pass the law, so as not to succumb to the dictates of reservists who use their military duties in an attempt to impose their opinion on the government and the Knesset.
Alongside the fact that the government must, in light of the threats, pass the law, Galant believed that it would not be right for one side to win completely and in such a way that the other side would be completely defeated, when he was faced with the value of cohesion in the army, which was severely damaged as a result of the refuseniks' letters.
Prime Minister Netanyahu with Defense Minister Galant during the votes, photo: AP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ready for a compromise. In talks that began with Lapid, the opposition leader agreed to a compromise in which the law would be softened and the coalition would freeze the continuation of the reform for a year and a half. However, Levin's opponent adamantly refused. Ahead of the opening of the plenary votes, Lapid announced that the negotiations had exploded.
Although the legislative process began, Gallant decided not to give up and to continue striving for a compromise that would reduce the intensity of the opposition's failure. He demanded that Netanyahu and Yariv Levin support the opposition's reservation, according to which the grounds of reasonableness will prevail over the government when an election date is declared and the government becomes in effect a transitional government. Netanyahu agreed, but Levin adamantly refused.
After this reservation passed, and the coalition knocked it down in a vote, Gallant proposed another solution whereby the coalition would raise a new reservation, according to which the law would take effect in January 2024 and not immediately. The idea behind the proposal is to allow the parties more time to talk over the next five months and reach an agreed wording before the law goes into effect. Netanyahu agreed, but Levin objected.
Former Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Merav Michaeli. They expected her to oppose the proposal, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Despite the Justice Minister's objections, Gallant nevertheless tried to promote his proposal. During the plenary votes, he approached Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz and presented them with the new compromise proposal. Both agreed immediately, but feared that other elements in the opposition that had ruled out contacts with the coalition in the first place, such as Avigdor Lieberman and Merav Michaeli, would refuse to do so.
It should be noted that without the consent of all the opposition factions, the proposal could not have been implemented, since the new reservation would have forced the legislation to be halted in the plenum and the constitutional committee reconvened, a process that could not have been completed by the end of the session without the full consent of both the coalition and the opposition.
During Galant's talks with Lapid, Gantz, Deri, and the other party leaders in order to advance the amendment, the parties involved former Deputy State Prosecutor Raz Nizri, who began drafting the amendment before bringing it to a vote. However, in the end, due to the opposition of Yariv Levin and Simcha Rotman, as well as the expected opposition of Lieberman and Michaeli, who will not join the agreement and torpedo the move, the agreement was not implemented and the legislation passed its final reading.
Until the last moment, Gallant debated whether to support the vote or oppose and then resign from his position, and finally decided that rebuilding the IDF was more important now and therefore supported the law.
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