http://www.jpost.
JPost.com » Israel » Article May 21, 2008 23:37 | Updated May 22, 2008
18:36 Shas to stay in government despite talks
By REBECCA ANNA STOIL AND GIL HOFFMAN
Shas chairman Eli Yishai announced on Wednesday that he would keep his
party in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition despite the revelation
from the Prime Minister's Office that the government had been carrying
out secret talks with Syria. [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert...]
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Shas chairman Eli Yishai. Photo: Ariel
Jerozolimski [file] Slideshow: Pictures of the week
Olmert called Yishai moments before a message was sent to reporters to
inform him about the talks. Yishai's associates said the news caught
him by surprise and that he would have preferred not to hear such news
at all.
"It is forbidden to negotiate with the axis of evil and certainly to
abandon the Golan to the axis of evil," Yishai told reporters. "At the
moment when we see that there is real danger of giving the Golan to
the axis of evil, Shas, of course, won't be in the government. We are
constantly evaluating whether we should remain in the government."
Within minutes of Olmert's announcement, opposition MKs sprang into
action, trying to find a blocking action that would prevent
negotiators from committing to any return of the Golan Heights. The
Likud called upon Shas to leave the coalition immediately and bring
down Olmert's government. RELATED
* PM approves 286 new settlement homes * US doesn't object to
Israel-Syria talks * Analyze This: Looking at the Golan through a
Lebanese lens * Israel denies deal on full Golan pullout * Analysis:
An attempt to break the Iranian-Syrian alliance
Likud faction Chairman MK Gideon Sa'ar warned that Olmert "doesn't
have a majority for making concessions on the Golan - not in the
Knesset and not among the public."
Sa'ar and Israel Beiteinu submitted no-confidence motions. [View of
the Kinneret from the...]
View of the Kinneret from the heights Photo: Jonathan Beck
"The prime minister and the president of Syria must thoroughly
understand that there is a clear Knesset majority against an Israeli
withdrawal from the Golan," said MK Yisrael Katz (Likud), the head of
the Knesset's Golan Lobby.
"More than 61 MKs signed a petition against relinquishing the Golan
and they won't allow the prime minister to continue the process."
In the past, the Knesset has attempted legislation that would prevent
returning the Golan without a public referendum. A 1999 law went so
far as to rule that a referendum was necessary, but qualified the
statement with a clause that it would only be relevant once a Basic
Law for Public Referenda was passed - and that law still does not
exist.
Former MK Avigdor Yitzhaki then tried to pass legislation that would
change the problematic clause of the 1999 law. Yitzhaki's law passed
its preliminary reading a few months ago, but Yitzhaki has since left
the Knesset and he said Wednesday that he did not believe that further
readings would see the light of day.
MK Eliyahu Gabbai (National Union-National Religious Party) declared,
in the wake of Olmert's announcement, that he would try to pick up
where Yitzhaki's bill left off. Gabbai said that he had already
gathered 57 signatures "from all the parties" in favor of a law
proposal "to anchor the Golan Heights."
Gabbai's proposal would require an 80-vote majority in the Knesset to
give up any part of the heights.
Many in the opposition drew links between the timing of the
announcement and the lifting of the gag order against the
investigation into Olmert's alleged corruption.
"The announcement that was made by the Prime Minister's Office is the
corrupt spin of a man who is well-known to police investigators,
constructed in an attempt to get the law enforcement system and the
media off his back," said MK Aryeh Eldad (NU-NRP), who heads the
Knesset's anti-corruption lobby.
"Olmert is certain that if Sharon was saved from trial because of
Disengagement, he, too will be saved from being removed from office
through treason against the State of Israel and offering up the Golan
Heights to a person who planned on preparing nuclear weapons to use
against us and who operates Hizbullah and Hamas."
Likud MK Gilad Erdan charged that "Olmert has finally proven that he
is willing to sell everything, including Israel's security, in order
to cause us to forget the severe criminal offenses that he suspected
of."
Former foreign minister Silvan Shalom (Likud) said in response to the
announcement that "this will not allow Olmert to be safeguarded from
the investigations against him."
But not all the opposition voices were negative. Meretz and Labor MKs
congratulated the announcement, although Meretz faction chair Zehava
Gal-On expressed her concern that the announcements - or the
negotiations themselves - could be merely a diversionary tactic.
Education Minister Yuli Tamir (Labor) declared her support for the
endeavor, arguing that negotiations with Syria "can stabilize peace in
the region."
"We must break the Iranian-Syrian axis and arrive at a comprehensive
peace agreement with the Syrians in exchange for a withdrawal from the
Golan."
------------
Progchat_action is a non-partisan and progressive political news weblog,
chat, and action discussion alternative in cyberspace:
http://groups.
------------
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great
moral crises maintain their neutrality" - Dante
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe