Since the establishment of the state until today, the Knesset has seen quite a few unusual scenes, but what took place yesterday (Monday) in the plenary session was particularly unusual. The frantic discussions that usually take place in private rooms were open for all to see, the drama unfolded in front of the cameras. The voice could not be heard, but the body language of our politicians said it all.
It was hard to miss Galant's running around between Levin, Lapid and Gantz. The determined hand gestures of the justice minister, the whispers in the plenum of Deri and Smotrich.
Galant speaks with opposition leaders, while Netanyahu is outside the plenum \\ Yehuda Schlesinger
The political drama, like any political drama, began yesterday in the middle of the night. Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs "grouped" contacts between coalition and opposition around three main axes: a slight softening in reasonableness; the agreement of all opposition leaders to vote in favor of the bill; and freezing legislation.
The last point was the most difficult of all: Lapid demanded a 15-month freeze, while Netanyahu, or rather Levin, agreed to a freeze until December. That's where it stuck.
Demanded a 15-month freeze. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
By the afternoon, deep into the vote, it finally exploded. The opposition leader entered the plenum, gathered his party's senior figures around him, and told them, "Netanyahu can't bring his partners to a compromise, it's finished."
After the contacts with the opposition exploded, the coalition tried to find a formula with which they could go public and give a reassurance siren, in the form of news of softening, albeit unilaterally. But then the silent play between Gallant and Levine came out.
Silent show. Galant and Levin, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
All Settlement Proposals
The defense minister tried to initiate an initiative according to which the start date of the law would be postponed to December. Levin did not reject the proposal, but explained that without the full consent of all opposition members, changing the law is a procedurally impossible task: "If we change the law without the opposition's consent, it will return to the committee, from there for more long discussions with 27,<> reservations and delays," the justice minister said. He expressed concern that the coalition would not be able to enact the law before going into recess.
Aryeh Deri and Minister Bezalel Smotrich also tried to find understandings and softening even without the opposition, and once again Yariv Levin sounded emphatic: "It's great that during the votes, everyone came up with an idea that would save the country. These may be wonderful and good ideas, but if there is no agreement from the opposition, there is no way to open the law and change it before the end of the session."
Yoav Galant, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
At one point in the conversation between the two, Minister Galant was seen saying, "You have to give something, something," and claimed to the prime minister that any news, even a small one, that talks about softening the law can help him in the fight against rejectionism. Levin again agreed and spoke of the defense minister's "good intentions," but explained that procedurally it was impossible and any reservation would have jeopardized the passage of the law.
The end is known to everyone. The bill passed by 64 votes to zero after all opposition members protestingly abandoned the plenum.
Intend to appeal to the High Court of Justice
This long and exhausting day in the Knesset plenum ended with Simcha Rotman taking selfies with coalition members and left opposition leader Lapid frustrated: "This extremist government is embracing and taking pictures to celebrate the moment when they made it so that we are no longer brotherly people. We celebrate the moment when they succeeded in throwing everything that connects us into the dustbin of history."
Lapid also lashed out at the prime minister, accusing him of weakness and lack of control: "Today we saw a show of weakness by Netanyahu like never before. There is no prime minister in Israel. Netanyahu has become a puppet on a string of messianic extremists."
The opposition said they planned to appeal to the High Court on the grounds that the law to reduce the cause of reasonableness was unconstitutional.
"Let the Supreme Court consider the law, and only then will you make the most difficult decision of all," they said. "Don't harm the IDF's competence as long as we don't know what the High Court will say."
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