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Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn was to boycott Sunday’s cabinet meeting in protest of an agreement reached between his Blue and White party and Likud on two high-level appointments that he was not informed of, and which he failed to achieve. fill a key position in your own ministry. , Reported the Hebrew media.
It was the latest indication that tensions in the unity government are also pulling at the seams of Azul y Blanco, which is led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Nissenkorn would join Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel in attending the meeting.
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The cabinet voted Sunday to approve the appointment of Yeheli Rothenburg as the new accountant general in the Likud-led Finance Ministry, and Hod Betzer as director general in the deputy prime minister’s office.
Gantz is serving as deputy prime minister under a unity government agreement. He is scheduled to switch places with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2021, although few observers believe the government will last that long.
Gantz and Netanyahu reportedly reached an agreement to fill the two positions in sneaky talks that were kept secret from top blue and white lawmakers, including Nissenkorn, whose own ministry remains without an appointed director.
Nissenkorn was applauded by opposition leader MK Yair Lapid, who tweeted that boycotting the cabinet was a “values-based” measure.
The appointments agreed between Netanyahu and Gantz were “disgraceful,” Lapid said.
“Instead of worrying about education, health and the economy, Ganz organizes fabricated jobs in non-existent offices for his friends,” he wrote, apparently referring to the alternate prime minister post, which had been created specifically for Gantz.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid addresses the Knesset plenum on October 19, 2020 (Shmulik Grossman / Knesset Spokesperson)
A television report on Saturday said Gantz withheld from two high-ranking ministers in his Blue and White party an agreement he reached with Netanyahu on high-level appointments that failed to secure the party’s key demand for a Justice Ministry appointment. . Earlier in the week, Blue and White had denied that such an agreement had been reached.
According to Channel 12 news, Nissenkorn and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Gantz’s senior partners in Blue and White, only learned of the deal when the agenda for the cabinet meeting was released.
The deal will not include the approval of a new director general at the Justice Ministry, a central blue and white demand that Netanyahu has long blocked, hampering the ministry’s activity.
Nissenkorn announced his election as CEO months ago, but the Prime Minister’s Office has so far refused to take the matter to a Cabinet vote, and Netanyahu has issued a de facto freeze on all senior official appointments in government-controlled ministries. Blue and white. – especially the Ministry of Justice. Gantz has responded by refusing to allow the cabinet to vote on appointments to Likud-led ministries, such as health and finance.
The report said Blue and White officials were angry and disappointed by the deal, feeling that Gantz gave in to Netanyahu on the matter. He did not cite a source.
It was also reported that lawmakers were concerned that the deal could be part of a broader agreement that is being formed and that would make Gantz agree to further delay the approval of a state budget, giving Netanyahu an opportunity to create a crisis over the budget in the future and trigger elections at a more politically convenient time for him.
Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel, who is part of Gantz’s Blue and White-led coalition bloc, will also resign from taking part in Sunday’s cabinet meeting in protest of the appointments agreement, according to Hebrew media. Hendel told party members that the meeting’s agenda is “irrelevant,” Channel 12 reported.
Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel visits a coronavirus ward at the Ziv Medical Center in the northern city of Safed on October 7, 2020 (David Cohen / Flash90).
As part of their coalition agreement, Likud and Azul y Blanco agreed to postpone any high-level nominations they are likely to face. However, in early October, Gantz said it was time to end the “chaos” in government and fill high-level positions in law enforcement that have long been filled by makeshift supplies.
The country has been without a permanent state attorney for nearly a year and without a permanent police commissioner for nearly two.
Last Monday, Attorney General Mandelblit told the Superior Court of Justice that he believed the state should explain why it has so far not appointed a permanent director general for the Justice Ministry. He said that without a specific justification given for the lack of progress in the process, “he believes that there is no choice” but to summon state representatives to respond.
In response to Monday’s letter from Mandelblit, Blue and White said Gantz had instructed Nissenkorn “to expedite the process of appointing a state attorney and bring it to the government for approval as soon as possible.”
Gantz also asked Likud Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana to appoint a police commissioner immediately.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a vote in the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on August 24, 2020 (Oren Ben Hakoon / Flash90).
Gantz is said to be under pressure within his own party to withdraw from the unity government amid frequent disputes between the Likud and Blue and White that have hampered progress on state affairs. Gantz has reportedly admitted to close confidants that he does not believe Netanyahu will ever hand over power, and some party lawmakers are said to threaten to break away and form their own opposition Knesset faction.
The government must approve a state budget before December 23 and, if it does not do so, the elections will be automatically activated. Critics believe that Netanyahu is engineering an ongoing dispute with Blue and White over the budget that has so far prevented it from passing despite a deadline extension, as he would prefer to hold elections in light of recent favorable polls. If elections are called, they would be the fourth in two years.
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