Coalition Deal Includes Sovereignty By July 1st, Recruitment Law Without Criminal Sanctions

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Details of the coalition agreement signed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have emerged, including legislation expected to be passed by the new government and what roles will be filled by each party.

The agreement calls for both parties to serve for a year and a half as prime ministers, with Netanyahu serving first and being automatically replaced by Gantz after his term ends. Each of the two will receive a special status of deputy prime minister as well as having special authority and other privileges.

The government will establish a corona cabinet to deal with the outbreak which will include ministers and professional elements, as well as a regular security cabinet and an economic cabinet.

The government will be defined as a national emergency government for half a year and no legislation unconnected to the coronavirus will be initiated without a coalition agreement. A negotiating team will be established to define the guidelines for the government after the end of the coronavirus. The prime minister will be allowed to bring to the Knesset President Trump’s declaration regarding sovereignty as of July 1st, after a preliminary process within the coalition.

The Likud and its partners will hold the following portfolios: Finance, Health, Public Security, Hosing, Transportation and Education

Blue-And-White and its partners will hold the following portfolios: Defence, Foreign Ministry, Justice, Communications, Culture and Economics.

The Likud will retain the role of Knesset speaker and ambassador to the UN.

Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to the agreement, stating that “I promised the state of Israel a national emergency government which would act to save lives and livelihoods of Israeli citizens. I will continue to do everything for you, citizens of Israel.”

Benny Gantz responded by saying that “we prevented a fourth election. We will preserve the democracy, fight corona and care for all of the citizens of Israel.

Regarding the recruitment law, the agreement states that the government will follow the suggestions of the Defense Minister and the IDF and recruitment targets will not be established by law but by government decisions. Regarding economic sanctions the agreement states that if the number of Chareidi recruits from 2022 will be less than 85% of the annual quota for three straight years, the government will decide on a program of annual quotas and will establish positive and negative incentives regarding the quotas.

The agreement also allows for a new recruitment law to be established later “regarding the IDF and national service in a broad and updated framework which takes into account all the needs of Israeli society in all of its different shades and variations.”

The meaning of the final clause is that the Chareidi parties have basically achieved their goal of legislating a recruitment law without criminal sanctions and without legislation of minimum quotas of Yeshiva students as requested by Avigdor Liberman (who refused last May to form a government with Likud due to this issue) and Yair Lapid. The law will be the same one presented by the Chareidi parties themselves and in accordance with the agreement of the gedolim of Israel.