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Netanyahu will Support Law Requiring Referendum
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will back a bill that will require a national referendum before going forward with any agreement that involves a withdrawal from the Golan Heights or East Jerusalem. "Any historic peace agreement I bring won't be based on a majority within the coalition but on substantial support from the majority of the public," said Netanyahu.
Binyamin Netanyahu said in a closed meeting, "Any historic peace agreement I bring won't be based on a majority within the coalition but on substantial support from the majority of the public – be it in a referendum or elections."
All the efforts of Minister Dan Meridor to prevent the bill from being passed were unsuccessful. The Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs voted against Meridor's appeal, by a majority of 5 to 2 votes. Meridor claims that the bill will jeopardize Israel's chance of achieving peace.
In the coming days, the Knesset members will vote on the "continuity law" that allows the Knesset to continue legislative discussions from whatever point at which they left off.
The big question in everybody's minds, is what will the Labor party do? The new state of affairs in Israel puts the Labor party in an uncomfortable position. According to sources in close contact with Barak, Labor will vote against the bill calling for a referendum. This week, Barak expressed his firm opposition to the bill, during a meeting of Labor Ministers, and said that he will personally speak to the Prime Minister about the issue.
It is not clear whether Barak will throw all of his weight into stopping the bill from being passed. It seems that he members of the Labor party will prefer to abstain from the vote. But whatever decision is reached by the Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs will be binding for all the members of the coalition, including members of the Labor party.
Illegal Aliens Attacked Inspectors from the Oz Deportation Unit with Tear Gas 6 Inspectors showed up this morning to arrest illegal workers who have been in Israel for 10 years, and were attacked with tear gas.
Herzog: Immediately Freeze the Water Price Hike Minister Herzog has asked the Prime Minister to immediately cancel the rise in water rates, but at the same time, to significantly increase the price of excessive water use.
Adava Report: Education in Israel is For the Rich According to a report publicized this morning, the State of Israel has created a segregated education system - "for the rich only" – whereby many school functions are funded by private money donated to the schools by the parents of the students. The report therefore claims that Israel's students are the victims of "natural selection".