Netanyahu spells out possible coalition deal ahead of meeting

As part of the agreement, coalition parties must commit to continuing the coalition partnership “over time."

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: MARCH 11, 2018 13:30
Netanyahu spells out three conditions for coalition deal, March 11, 2018
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set three conditions to keep the coalition intact, ahead of meeting with party leaders Sunday.
The first condition is that there will be a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) conscription bill agreed upon by Shas and United Torah Judaism, as well as Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
Second, Kulanu and all of its members of Knesset would have to agree to support it in all three Knesset votes.
The final condition is aimed at Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party.  Yisrael Beytenu, as well as all other parties, will have to commit to continuing the coalition partnership “over time."
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked postponed the ministerial committee for legislation meeting to Monday to allow for negotiations to take place.
The sides need to come up with a mutually acceptable draft of a bill dealing with the haredi conscription, after the Supreme Court ruled in September that their current exemption from military service is discriminatory.
The haredi parties seek to pass a law to circumvent the ruling, demanding that it pass, at least in a preliminary vote, before this week’s vote on the 2019 budget.
Liberman and his Yisrael Beytenu party – and to some extent Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Kulanu party – want a bill that would increase haredi enlistment in the IDF, and Kahlon will not keep his party in the coalition if the budget does not pass this week as promised.
“The prime minister’s preference is to continue the government’s activities until the end of its term in November 2019 – and for that, he needs the agreement of the coalition partners,” his spokesman said.
The statement backed earlier remarks by sources close to Netanyahu that, should the crisis be resolved, he plans to ask his coalition partners to promise, possibly publicly, that they will stick together until the end of the term.