Why Israeli liberals should consider partnering with Netanyahu

Ahead of the September elections, Israel's Blue and White Party should seriously consider forming a national unity government under a rotation agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

al-monitor Head of Israel's Blue and White Party Benny Gantz speaks at a campaign rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 7, 2019. Photo by REUTERS/Ammar Awad.

Topics covered

ehud barak, national unity, israeli politics, israeli elections, benjamin netanyahu, blue and white, benny gantz

Jul 1, 2019




Even if elections go ahead on Sept. 17, there is a very real possibility that the right will be unable to form a government without Liberman’s support. The centrist Blue and White could also fail, even if the center-left's showing improves following the comeback of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the head of a new party, because it would not offer full partnership to Arab lawmakers and rule out partnership with Netanyahu. How would such a dead end be resolved? No one knows and everyone prefers to cross that bridge when they get there. That means the issue of a national unity government will soon come knocking.

Israel’s liberal camp has no right to reject such an option out of hand. Unseating Netanyahu even before he is indicted for corruption would be a major victory, but is not the be-all and end-all. The Gantz and Barak parties cannot mobilize the electorate — which aspires to peace, social justice and getting rid of Netanyahu — and they are counting on Liberman.

I attach no importance to the hostility toward Netanyahu from senior Likud officials, including some of his ministers who constantly gripe about him behind his back. Therefore, as long as the Likud is unwilling to replace him, and as long as the liberal camp is unable to form a liberal government, leveraging Netanyahu’s greatest weakness is an option that must be examined. He has proven less interested in ideological issues than in his political and personal survival, and there is no shame in taking advantage of this fact to realize truly important public goals.

In 1984, Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir and Labor’s Shimon Peres signed an agreement dividing the prime minister’s term into two equal 25-month periods, and adhered to it. The two sides agreed on ideological issues that included halting settlement construction prior to inking their deal.

The opposition must now extract from the Likud a commitment to launch immediate negotiations with the Palestinian leadership based on Netanyahu's stated willingness to adopt a two-state solution and on territorial exchanges in reference to the 1967 borders.

The second demand should be rejection of any legislation curbing the power of the country’s top court and a mutual veto of any amendment or legislation that seeks to amend or create new basic laws. There would be no point to a national unity government absent agreement on these two things — not with Netanyahu nor with any other Likud leader.

If the only way to form a rotation government is to do so with Netanyahu at the helm of the Likud, I think his demand to serve as prime minister for the first two years of the 22nd Knesset can be accepted. Apropos Peres and Shamir: Shamir lucked out by serving as premier for the second 25 months of the term — as Gantz would serve — and beat Peres in the 1988 elections, in which he ran as the incumbent. In the present-day arrangement, Gantz and Netanyahu would each serve as acting prime minister for the other as needed and the other’s minister of defense or foreign affairs.

This compromise, however, would still not address all the problems. The liberal camp cannot aid and abet a prime minister under indictment. Any deal with Netanyahu must stipulate that if and when he is indicted after a hearing, he would suspend himself from office. This situation would entail a declaration of temporary incapacity, which can last up to 100 days, and replacement by an acting prime minister. The law stipulates that if legal proceedings are still ongoing at the 100-day mark, the government is automatically dismantled and the Knesset must vote its confidence in a different prime minister. Therefore, any coalition agreement would have to determine whether Gantz could step in as prime minister if Netanyahu’s suspension ends a short time (say less than a year) before the scheduled rotation date. If a longer period remains until the rotation, the Likud would choose a replacement for Netanyahu to serve the remainder of his 25-month period.

Either way, no responsible party can discount a national unity government split evenly between the two sides out of hand. It's a rare opportunity to check Israel’s priorities. If having a sitting prime minister on trial can be avoided, it would also be an important contribution to upholding democratic norms in the spirit of the law and not just in accordance with its dry letter.

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