This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/world/middleeast/netanyahu-hints-at-possibility-of-new-elections.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Netanyahu Hints at Possibility of New Elections | Netanyahu Hints at Possibility of New Elections |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Amid a political crisis over a proposed nationality law and growing acrimony among the fractious partners of Israel’s governing coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Sunday at the possibility of new elections only 20 months after his current government was formed. | JERUSALEM — Amid a political crisis over a proposed nationality law and growing acrimony among the fractious partners of Israel’s governing coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Sunday at the possibility of new elections only 20 months after his current government was formed. |
| Talk of the potential collapse of the government has become feverish in the week since the cabinet approved a contentious version of a nationality bill that was promoted by right-wing legislators with Mr. Netanyahu’s backing. Two centrist parties in the coalition have vowed not to support the bill when it is brought to a vote in Parliament, denouncing it as anti-democratic and risking being fired by Mr. Netanyahu, a move that would deprive him of his parliamentary majority. | Talk of the potential collapse of the government has become feverish in the week since the cabinet approved a contentious version of a nationality bill that was promoted by right-wing legislators with Mr. Netanyahu’s backing. Two centrist parties in the coalition have vowed not to support the bill when it is brought to a vote in Parliament, denouncing it as anti-democratic and risking being fired by Mr. Netanyahu, a move that would deprive him of his parliamentary majority. |
| Referring to the instability of his coalition in remarks broadcast at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud Party, berated ministers for attacking him. | Referring to the instability of his coalition in remarks broadcast at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud Party, berated ministers for attacking him. |
| “Recently, hardly a day passes without us running into diktat or threats or threats of resignation or ultimatums,” he said. He added: “I hope that we will be able to return to proper conduct. This is what the public expects of us because only thus is it possible to run the country, and if not, we will draw conclusions.” | “Recently, hardly a day passes without us running into diktat or threats or threats of resignation or ultimatums,” he said. He added: “I hope that we will be able to return to proper conduct. This is what the public expects of us because only thus is it possible to run the country, and if not, we will draw conclusions.” |
| An Israeli government official said Mr. Netanyahu would prefer the current coalition to continue, explaining the prime minister’s position. “But there is important work to be done,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. “If the government cannot function, he will move to new elections.” | An Israeli government official said Mr. Netanyahu would prefer the current coalition to continue, explaining the prime minister’s position. “But there is important work to be done,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. “If the government cannot function, he will move to new elections.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu delayed bringing the nationality bill to a preliminary vote in Parliament last week, and the official said there was a good chance it would not come up this week either, presumably to stave off the confrontation and allow time for a compromise. | Mr. Netanyahu delayed bringing the nationality bill to a preliminary vote in Parliament last week, and the official said there was a good chance it would not come up this week either, presumably to stave off the confrontation and allow time for a compromise. |
| Nevertheless, Mr. Netanyahu has not yet presented his own version of the nationality law, which is expected to be more palatable to the centrist parties, and deep disagreements and rivalries between the diverse coalition partners have stymied the passage of next year’s budget, among other things. | Nevertheless, Mr. Netanyahu has not yet presented his own version of the nationality law, which is expected to be more palatable to the centrist parties, and deep disagreements and rivalries between the diverse coalition partners have stymied the passage of next year’s budget, among other things. |
| “At no point in time was this government closer to falling than now,” said Abraham Diskin, a professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Even if some of the politicians stand to gain little or even to lose from new elections, he said, “too many people have climbed up high trees that are hard to climb down.” | “At no point in time was this government closer to falling than now,” said Abraham Diskin, a professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Even if some of the politicians stand to gain little or even to lose from new elections, he said, “too many people have climbed up high trees that are hard to climb down.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu will, by all accounts, be seeking a fourth term if new elections are held. He was elected to his first term in office in the 1990s and was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013 for what was supposed to be a four-year term. | Mr. Netanyahu will, by all accounts, be seeking a fourth term if new elections are held. He was elected to his first term in office in the 1990s and was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013 for what was supposed to be a four-year term. |
| The prime minister was expected to hold meetings with some of the quarreling coalition party leaders on Monday to try to reach a new understanding. | |
| But senior ministers have traded barbs in recent days that have underlined and deepened the animosity. | |
| Yair Lapid, the finance minister and the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, a major coalition partner, said in televised remarks over the weekend that Mr. Netanyahu was busy with petty politics, that important issues like the state budget, housing and Israel’s international relations were paralyzed and that the prime minister had not spoken to him in weeks. | Yair Lapid, the finance minister and the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, a major coalition partner, said in televised remarks over the weekend that Mr. Netanyahu was busy with petty politics, that important issues like the state budget, housing and Israel’s international relations were paralyzed and that the prime minister had not spoken to him in weeks. |
| Yuval Steinitz, the minister for strategic affairs and a Netanyahu loyalist, hit back, telling reporters that Mr. Lapid, a former television talk show host, reminded him of “a 16-year-old adolescent” who at first wants to do everything by himself and not listen to advice from economists or the prime minister, “and after a year and half, when everything is crashing, he suddenly comes and says, ‘They don’t help me; they don’t aid me.'” | Yuval Steinitz, the minister for strategic affairs and a Netanyahu loyalist, hit back, telling reporters that Mr. Lapid, a former television talk show host, reminded him of “a 16-year-old adolescent” who at first wants to do everything by himself and not listen to advice from economists or the prime minister, “and after a year and half, when everything is crashing, he suddenly comes and says, ‘They don’t help me; they don’t aid me.'” |
| Tzipi Livni, the centrist justice minister, accused Mr. Netanyahu of conducting negotiations on his future cabinet behind the backs of his ministers. Mr. Lapid has been accused of holding his own negotiations to try to form an alternative government without Mr. Netanyahu. | Tzipi Livni, the centrist justice minister, accused Mr. Netanyahu of conducting negotiations on his future cabinet behind the backs of his ministers. Mr. Lapid has been accused of holding his own negotiations to try to form an alternative government without Mr. Netanyahu. |
| Also Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu and other leaders condemned an arson attack on a Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem. The Saturday night fire burned a classroom in the bilingual Hebrew-Arabic “Hand in Hand” school, which was empty at the time. Hebrew hate slogans, including “Death to Arabs,” were scrawled on a wall, adding to the suspicion that the attack was the work of Jewish extremists. | Also Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu and other leaders condemned an arson attack on a Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem. The Saturday night fire burned a classroom in the bilingual Hebrew-Arabic “Hand in Hand” school, which was empty at the time. Hebrew hate slogans, including “Death to Arabs,” were scrawled on a wall, adding to the suspicion that the attack was the work of Jewish extremists. |
| The school is a symbol of coexistence in the increasingly tense city, where Palestinians have carried out a number of deadly attacks against Israelis and the Israeli authorities have imposed a security clampdown on the predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem in recent weeks. | The school is a symbol of coexistence in the increasingly tense city, where Palestinians have carried out a number of deadly attacks against Israelis and the Israeli authorities have imposed a security clampdown on the predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem in recent weeks. |