PM walks back vote making annexation more difficult
At the last moment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled an agenda item from Sunday’s cabinet meeting that would have made it more difficult to execute annexation of West Bank settlements.
According to the agenda on the Prime Minister’s Office website, the government had been slated to debate and or possibly vote on its procedural bylaws. But in the end, the matter was not dealt with.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan alerted the media late Saturday night about the agenda item, noting that the word “sovereignty” was missing from the text of the draft decision posted on the prime minister’s website. Nor did the draft text lay out any specific procedures for a sovereignty vote even though it sets out the government’s operational procedures with respect to decision-making, including on international matters.
More significantly, the text had clarified that the government’s agenda must have the joint approval of both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, who has opposed unilateral sovereignty moves.
The coalition agreement between the Likud and Blue and White specified that Netanyahu did not need Gantz’s approval to move forward with annexation.
That agreement is not mentioned in the draft text, which left no wiggle room for annexation to move forward to a vote of the government or the cabinet without Gantz’s approval.
Had the government approved the draft decision, it would have put an end to the “possibility of applying sovereignty in the coming months as promised by the prime minister, because Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz has already stated he would not agree to apply sovereignty without negotiations with the Arab world, and that is not possible at this time,” Dagan said.
The proposed bylaws also allowed for Netanyahu, upon consultation with Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, to bring sensitive international issues and agreement to the security cabinet rather than to the full government for a vote.
There is no set date for Netanyahu to make good on his preelection pledge to annex all of the West Bank settlements. The earliest date by which Netanyahu could apply sovereignty had been set for July 1, but some 12 days later, no action has been taken.
Netanyahu prefers to apply sovereignty based on the dictates of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan and with US approval. The Trump administration has yet to give a green light for Israeli annexation. It is presumed that such a step must take place before the US presidential election in November, after which the “window of opportunity” for annexation would likely close.
Dagan thanked Netanyahu for pulling the agenda item. He added that he expects the next draft decision to include the same sovereignty clause that was set out in the coalition agreement. This clause allows the issue to move forward without Gantz’s approval.