Representatives of Likud and Blue and White submitted 72 signatures of MKs recommending that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu form the next government to President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday late afternoon. Rivlin received the signatures but did not immediately grant Netanyahu the mandate to build a governing coalition. Instead, he said the signatures would have to go through the formal process of being checked before the mandate is granted, which could end Thursday night but might not end until Sunday or Monday. “I hope Israel will soon have a government that will deal successfully with the complex challenges that stand before us,” Rivlin said, noting the dual crises of the political stalemate and the impact of the coronavirus. Earlier, the Knesset plenum passed into law all the bills required for the formation of a new government on Thursday morning by a hefty majority, clearing a major hurdle that will allow Israel to have a fully functioning government for the first time since December 2018. The bills were supported by the MKs in Netanyahu’s Right-Center bloc, except for the MKs of Yamina, who absented themselves, because it is still unknown whether it will enter the coalition. Blue and White and Labor MKs voted in favor, except for Labor MK Merav Michaeli, who opposes the government. The same MKs who voted for the bills signed the recommendation to Rivlin. The bills were necessary for Blue and White to be able to recommend Netanyahu to form a government by Thursday night’s deadline to prevent a fourth election. Presumptive opposition leader Yair Lapid responded that “never have so few people misled so many people for such pathetic reasons.” Immediately after the bills passed, the Movement for the Quality of Government in Israel filed a new petition to the High Court of Justice to strike the provision of the coalition deal that dictates that Netanyahu will become vice premier in November 2021 as unconstitutional since there is a bribery indictment pending against him. The Movement said that it could refile the day after the High Court rejected its initial position on the issue because now the Knesset held a vote on the change. The High Court is expected to reject the petition as still far too premature. The Meretz party also filed a petition against the rotation and other aspects of the coalition deal given the Knesset vote to move them forward. The High Court is expected to reject both petitions as still far too premature. The law that passed would enable Netanyahu to remain prime minister for a year and half, followed by Gantz, but the term could be extended to four and a half years. Both will have veto power over legislation. It also cancels an existing law limiting the number of ministers that can be appointed. The plenum had stopped voting at 10 p.m. Wednesday night after the opposition withdrew 1000 amendments in a parliamentary move to catch the coalition unprepared. The coalition then chose to go back to the committee preparing the bill and fix a clause about how many MKs would be needed to extend the government’s term from three years to four or four and a half. According to the pre-existing law, it was 80, and after the bill passes, it will be 70. One clause that was initially in the bill but was removed was a new version of the so-called “Norwegian Law” which normally allows ministers to quit the Knesset and be replaced by the next candidates on their party list. The special version would allow only loyalists of Gantz in Blue and White to enter the Knesset, while skipping over candidates from the Yesh Atid and Telem parties, which are in the opposition. Blue and White decided not to adopt the special version, fearing that the Supreme Court would disqualify it. Instead, the normal version of the Norwegian Law is expected to be passed soon, which would allow up to six ministers from a party to quit and give Blue and White more MKs who are not ministers to do the party’s work in the Knesset. Among the Blue and White candidates set to enter the Knesset are Diaspora Affairs and moderate religious Zionism advocate Tehila Friedman and former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler’s daughter, attorney Michal Cotler-Wunsh. Cotler-Wunsh is the legal adviser of the Goldin and Shaul families who are trying to bring back the bodies of their sons that are being held captive by Hamas in Gaza. Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
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