رزمة من التقارير والتعليقات والتحاليل بالعربية والإنكليزية تتناول الأزمة الإسرائيلية لجهة فشل نيتنياهو تشكيل الحكومة وحل الكنيست والدعوة لإنتخابات جديد/Micellaneous Arabic/English Reports & Analysis Addressing Israel’s Crisis In regards to Netanyahu’s Failure to Form A New Government & The Knesset dissolution

46

في أسفل من صحف عربية وإسرائيلية رزمة من التقارير والتعليقات والتحاليل بالعربية والإنكليزية تتناول الأزمة الإسرائيلية لجهة فشل نيتنياهو تشكيل الحكومة وحل الكنيست والدعوة لإنتخابا جديدة

Micellaneous Arabic/English Reports & Analysis Addressing Israel’s Crisis In regards to Netanyahu’s Failure to Form A New Government & The Knesset dissolution

الكنيست الإسرائيلي يحل نفسه… ونتنياهو لإجراء انتخابات في سبتمبر والرئيس الإسرائيلي والمعارضة يخفقان في إفشال قانون «تبكير الانتخابات»
تل أبيب: نظير مجلي/الشرق الأوسط/30 أيار/2019

نتنياهو الى الانتخابات المبكرة: الفوز أو السجن
المدن – عرب وعالم | الخميس 30/05/2019

Analysis/Why a New Election? Only Two Men Know
Noa Landau/Haaretz/May 30, 2019

Netanyahu is implicitly touted by Trump and Putin in his fight for re-election
Debka File/May 30/2019

Analysis/Netanyahu Just Suffered One of the Biggest Losses of His Political Career
Anshel Pfeffer//Haaretz/May 30, 2019

 

Analysis/Netanyahu Just Suffered One of the Biggest Losses of His Political Career
Anshel Pfeffer//Haaretz/May 30, 2019

The Likud Blames Liberman: He Will Pay The Price In The End
Jerusalem Post/May 30/2019

Analysis/Why a New Election? Only Two Men Know
Noa Landau/Haaretz/May 30, 2019

Netanyahu Dissolves Parliament to Cover for Failure on Coalition Deal
Tel Aviv – Amman – Mohammed Kheir Al-Rawashdeh and Nazir Magally/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 30 May, 2019

الكنيست الإسرائيلي يحل نفسه… ونتنياهو لإجراء انتخابات في سبتمبر والرئيس الإسرائيلي والمعارضة يخفقان في إفشال قانون «تبكير الانتخابات»
تل أبيب: نظير مجلي/الشرق الأوسط/30 أيار/2019
وافق الكنيست الإسرائيلي الليلة الماضية، على حلّ نفسه وإجراء انتخابات تشريعيّة جديدة في 17 سبتمبر (أيلول)، في سابقة في تاريخ الدولة العبريّة، إذ لم يسبق أن حلّ أي من برلماناتها نفسه بعد أقل من شهرين على انتخابه. وبأغلبيّة 74 صوتاً مقابل 45، أقرّ النواب في قراءتين ثانية وثالثة اقتراح قانون حلّ الكنيست الذي قدّمه حزب الليكود بزعامة بنيامين نتنياهو. وأتى التصويت على اقتراح القانون مع انتهاء المهلة المحدّدة لنتنياهو، رئيس الوزراء المكلّف، لتشكيل ائتلاف حكومي، وتفضيل زعيم الليكود خيار العودة إلى صناديق الاقتراع على خسارة مهمّة التكليف لصالح شخصيّة أخرى كان بإمكان الرئيس رؤوفين ريفلين أن يُكلّفها مهمّة تشكيل الحكومة لو لم يحلّ الكنيست نفسه. وأعلن نتنياهو فشله في تشكيل حكومة يمينية، متهما رفيق دربه أفيغدور ليبرمان، رئيس حزب اليهود الروس ووزير الدفاع السابق، بالمسؤولية عن هذا التدهور، قائلاً إنه «يدفعنا إلى الانتخابات لأغراض شخصية بحتة». وقال: «ليبرمان يفوت على اليمين إقامة حكومة ليس فقط لصالح اليسار، بل إنه يعرقل بذلك تطورات كبيرة في المنطقة لصالح أمن إسرائيل»، ولم يفصل قصده. ورد ليبرمان قائلاً: «إننا نتجه لانتخابات جديدة بسبب تعنّت الليكود وإصراره على تحويل الدولة لدولة شريعة وإكراه ديني بالشراكة مع الأحزاب الحريدية، ولن نكون شركاء في حكومة من هذا النوع. الليكود فشل مجدداً في تشكيل الحكومة ولم ينجح في التوصل إلى أي اتفاق مع أي حزب في اليمين وفي أي موضوع». وتعهد نتنياهو بفوز حزبه بالانتخابات المبكرة التي جرت الدعوة إليها. وقال للصحافيين: «سنخوض حملة انتخابية نشطة وواضحة تحقق لنا النصر. سنفوز، سنفوز والشعب سيفوز».
وكان الكنيست التأم ظهر أمس في جلسة امتدت حتى منتصف الليل. وبدا أن مد فترة النقاش في الكنيست من ظهيرة أمس حتى ساعة متأخرة من الليل تم بشكل مصطنع من دون حاجة موضوعية، ولكن باتفاق كل الأطراف. ففي حزب الليكود، أرادوا استغلال كل دقيقة لممارسة الضغوط على أفيغدور ليبرمان، حتى يوافق على صيغة حل وسط لموضوع تجنيد الشبان المتدينين اليهود ترضيه وترضي الأحزاب الدينية التي تريد أن يتعلم شبابها في المدارس الدينية، بدل الخدمة في الجيش. وقد استخدموا معه طريقة العصا والجزرة. فمن جهة اقترحوا عليه عدة مناصب مسؤولة، يكون فيها عملياً الرجل الثاني في الحكومة، ومن جهة ثانية هددوا بتصفيته سياسياً، في حال إجراء انتخابات مبكرة بعد 3 شهور. وأعلنوا مضاعفة ميزانية الدعاية الانتخابية بين صفوف اليهود الروس حتى ينفضوا عن ليبرمان، وشنوا عليه هجوماً كاسحاً، واتهموه بالتآمر لإسقاط نتنياهو وإدخاله إلى السجن.
واستمر هذا السجال بين الحزبين (الحليفين) في اليمين، وانضمت إليه أحزاب يمينية أخرى تهاجم بعضها بعضاً، وتشكك في نوايا كل منها، وتتهم بعضها بعضاً بإضاعة الفرصة على أحزاب اليمين، ودفعها إلى خسارة الحكم. لكن المعارضة حاولت منع إنهاء النقاش أمس، وسعت إلى إطالته لـ3 أيام متواصلة، وقالت إنها تريد مناقشة كل بند في القانون، والتصويت عليه بالعلن من خلال سؤال كل نائب عن موقفه، اسماً بعد اسم، في محاولة لم توفق لإفشال قانون تبكير موعد الانتخابات. وحاول الرئيس الإسرائيلي تجنب سيناريو إعادة الانتخابات. وقال أمس إن «من حق الكنيست أن يحل نفسه، وأنا أحترم هذا الحق وألتزم به، ولكنني في الوقت نفسه أسعى بكل قوتي لئلا يتم دفع الناس إلى انتخابات جديدة. فالجمهور خاض الانتخابات فقط قبل 50 يوماً، وهو ليس معنياً بانتخابات إضافية». وقد فهم كلامه على أنه معني بتكليف شخص آخر بتشكيل الحكومة، في حال فشل نتنياهو.
وكانت قوى المعارضة قد اختلفت فيما بينها أيضاً على خلفية هذه القضية. فقد أعلن النائب يائير لبيد أنه لن يوافق على أن يبقى بيني غانتس مرشحاً باسم حزب «كحول لفان» (الذي يضم حزب الجنرالات)، لرئاسة الحكومة. فكان لتصريحه وقع الزلزال، واضطر إلى التراجع عنه بعد ساعات. ومن جهة ثانية، أعلنت الأحزاب العربية (10 نواب) أنها ستؤيد تقديم موعد الانتخابات، لأنها ليست معنية بأن يحظى نتنياهو بالحكم. فثارت أحزاب المعارضة الأخرى، وراحت تسعى لإقناعهم برفض القانون وإسقاطه، بحيث يتاح تكليف غانتس لتشكيل الحكومة. وقرر قادة الأحزاب العربية في المساء التصويت ضد قانون الانتخابات.

نتنياهو الى الانتخابات المبكرة: الفوز أو السجن
المدن – عرب وعالم | الخميس 30/05/2019
حل الكنيست الإسرائيلي نفسه عبر تصويت أجراه، الخميس، في أعقاب فشل رئيس الوزراء بنيامين نتنياهو، في تشكيل ائتلاف حاكم، بعد انقضاء المهلة المحددة لذلك في منتصف ليلة الأربعاء – الخميس. وتعهد نتنياهو في حديث للصحافيين، الخميس، بأن حزب “الليكود” المحافظ بزعامته سيفوز بالانتخابات المبكرة، التي جرت الدعوة إليها بعدما فشل في تشكيل حكومة ائتلافية قبل انقضاء المهلة. وقال نتنياهو بعدما صوت الكنيست لصالح حل نفسه “سنخوض حملة انتخابية نشطة وواضحة تحقق لنا النصر. سنفوز، سنفوز والشعب سيفوز”. ويمثل حل الكنسيت وإعادة الانتخابات في أيلول/سبتمبر القادم، لتكون الثانية خلال عام، ضربة موجعة لنتنياهو الذي تمكن من الفوز في الانتخابات الماضية، والتي جرت في التاسع من نيسان/أبريل الماضي. وصوت البرلمان بأغلبية 74 صوتا مقابل 45 لصالح حل نفسه بعد دقائق من انقضاء المهلة التي كانت محددة لنتنياهو لتشكيل حكومة بحلول منتصف الليل.
وكان نتنياهو على بعد خطوة من كونه صاحب أطول منصب في رئاسة الوزراء، إلا أنه فشل في التوافق مع حلفائه ويزر الدفاع السابق أفيغدور ليبرمان، وبعض الأحزاب اليمنية المتطرفة، حول مسألة التجنيد الإجباري، مما عرقل تشكيل حكومته.
وترفض الأحزاب الدينية في إسرائيل إلزام طلبة مدارسها بالخدمة العسكرية، بينما يصر ليبرمان وكثيرون من الإسرائيليين على أن يتحمل هؤلاء أيضاً الخدمة الإلزامية. وندد نتنياهو بالخلاف حول التجنيد ووصفه بأنه خدعة “درامية”. وقال للصحافيين “إنه أمر لا يصدق. أفيغدور ليبرمان أصبح الآن جزءا من اليسار.. من الواضح تماما أنه يريد إسقاط هذه الحكومة… لجمع بضعة أصوات أخرى”. واعتبر مراقبون أن اجراء انتخابات جديدة لا تمثل انتكاسة كبيرة لنتنياهو نظراً لأن الرئيس الإسرائيلي ريئوفين ريفلين، لم يكلف أحداً أخر بتشكيل الحكومة رغم امتلاكه هذه الصلاحية.
وأشار نتنياهو إلى أنه سيخوض الانتخابات القادمة وقال لأنصاره “سنفوز”. وأرسل المتحدث باسم حزب ليكود الذي يتزعمه نتنياهو صورة نصية يظهر فيها نتنياهو وهو يبتسم مع رسالة تقول “إنزلوا وصوتوا”. إلا أن فشل نتنياهو في تشكيل الحكومة، قد يصعد التوتر داخل حزب الليكود، مما قد يؤدي إلى انقسامات في الحزب. وارتبط اسم نتنياهو خلال الفترة الماضية بثلاث تهم فساد كبرى، أحدها قبول الرشوة والاحتيال، التي أعلن المدعي العام في شباط الماضي، أنه سيوجهها لنتنياهو. ويخشى الأميركيون من تأثير ذلك على صفقة القرن إذا خسروا حليفهم نتنياهو، الأمر الذي قد يعرقل خططهم في حال تولي أمر إسرائيل حكومة أكثر تشدداً، ناهيك عن الرفض الفلسطيني للخطة الأميركية التي لا يرون فيها سوى تأكيدٍ على الاحتلال والحرمان من حق الدولتين. ويزور فريق البيت الأبيض الذي يقف وراء الخطة، ويضم صهر ترامب جاريد كوشنر، الشرق الأوسط لحشد الدعم “لورشة عمل” اقتصادية في البحرين الشهر المقبل لتشجيع الاستثمار في الضفة الغربية المحتلة وقطاع غزة. ووصل الفريق إلى إسرائيل الأربعاء، ومن المقرر أن يجتمع مع نتنياهو الخميس. وفي إشارة أخرى إلى رغبة نتنياهو القوية في تولي فترة جديدة رئيسا للوزراء، قال حزب العمل المعارض المنتمي لتيار يسار الوسط إنه تلقى عرضا بالانضمام إلى ائتلاف بقيادة “الليكود”، لكنه رفض هذا العرض. وقال ليبرمان، الأربعاء، إنه لن يتراجع عما وصفها بأنها مسألة مبدأ بشأن قضية التجنيد الإجباري، ونفى مزاعم ليكود بأن نيته الحقيقية تتمثل في الإطاحة بنتنياهو وقيادة “معسكر قومي”. وكان ليبرمان استقال العام الماضي من منصب وزير الدفاع في خلاف مع نتنياهو بسبب السياسات تجاه غزة.

Netanyahu is implicitly touted by Trump and Putin in his fight for re-election
Debka File/May 30/2019
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received an unforeseen boost on Wednesday, May 29, while he was announcing a new election on Sept 17 after failing to set up a government.
Harsh recriminations and insults flew through the Knesset chamber on the heels of a dissolution vote of 74:45. Netanyahu accused Israel Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman of deliberately undermining a right-wing government and joining the “left bloc.” Lieberman, who will go down in Israel’s political history as having forced the country into two general elections in less than three months, denied supporting opposition Blue-White leader Benny Gantz; he only sought a “sane right-wing, non-religious-dominated government,” he protested. Blue-White leaders, for their part, readjusted their signature tune. Instead of targeting Netanyahu as the archenemy of democracy, they turned against Lieberman, fearing he may steal their right-leaning anti-religious voters. New actors meanwhile stepped from the wings into the still-unfolding election campaign – still unnoticed. Fully aware of the political turmoil besetting Israel in recent weeks, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin decided nonetheless not to postpone the conference set for June in Jerusalem of the US, Russian and Israeli national security advisers to discuss regional security issues. A White House communique setting the place and the time was issued on Wednesday while voting on dissolution was taking place in the Knesset. The two presidents appear to share the wish to see Netanyahu re-elected and taking up the role they have assigned him in helping to shape Middle East security policy. Their support may prove to be an obstacle that Lieberman and the leaders of Blue-White will find hard to beat. The high-powered trilateral security conference is unprecedented in that it assigns Israel a role equal to that of the two superpowers in determining future Middle East security issues. Putin was even prepared to honor the Jewish state and its prime minister by letting the opening session of the new track take place in Jerusalem.
Opinion/There Are Things Much Worse Than Netanyahu – for Example, Lieberman
Gideon Levy/Haaretz/May 30/2019/
The primeval hatred for Benjamin Netanyahu blinds even the eyes of the wise. Suddenly, Avigdor Lieberman has become the hope of the liberal secular public. Half of Israel hates Netanyahu as Israel has never hated any prime minister before, and Lieberman is the savior.
This pathological hatred for Netanyahu stems mainly from his lifestyle and his imbecilic efforts to escape justice, not from his policies or his positions. The lust to see him ousted, stoned in the city square and jailed for all eternity has long since ceased to be rational. It’s irrational to the point of obscuring the fact that there could be things much worse than Netanyahu – for example, Lieberman.
The center-left’s sacred cannon is firing at Netanyahu, and its gunners have forgotten who Lieberman is. We’ll forgive and forget everything for Lieberman if he’ll only take down Netanyahu for us. Character witnesses on his behalf have even emerged from among the enlightened public – he’s pragmatic, strong, wise, serious; his word is his word; wait and see. These assessments are ridiculous and dangerous. Lieberman never deserved them and never will. He’s one of the ugliest, most repulsive thugs in politics, and he may well make us miss Netanyahu.
Lieberman is now riding the liberal public’s two most burning hatreds – for Netanyahu and for the ultra-Orthodox. He has tortured Netanyahu for his own amusement, and the liberal public cheered. The crisis of the last few days was created by Lieberman, not Netanyahu. Lieberman chose to make a flagship issue out of the conscription law, one of the most marginal issues on the agenda, which is based entirely on the secular public’s loathing for the ultra-Orthodox. It doesn’t matter in the least whether the ultra-Orthodox are drafted or not. The army doesn’t need them. Conscription into an army that does what ours does is no “moral value.” And in any case, there’s no equality in the burden of service. About half of all Israelis aren’t drafted into the army, and that’s a minuscule disaster.
But for those who hate the ultra-Orthodox, Lieberman is the hero of the hour. He’ll take vengeance on those leeches in black. That is the most important issue the country has to deal with right now.
The criminal cases against Netanyahu are white as snow compared to the earlier cases against Lieberman, yet those came to nothing, under fairly shocking circumstances. Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party is surely riddled with far more rot than Netanyahu’s Likud, and it’s also less democratic. Lieberman’s statements show that he’s far more of a benighted racist and nationalist than Netanyahu. But for those who want Netanyahu’s head, this is no time for a rational assessment of political positions.
Unlike Netanyahu, Lieberman is a criminal who was convicted of assault. Next to Lieberman’s cynicism, Netanyahu is a romantic. Next to Lieberman’s arrogance, Netanyahu is modest. Next to Lieberman’s thuggery, Netanyahu is Mother Teresa.
Next to Lieberman’s views, Netanyahu is a Breaking the Silence activist. Next to Lieberman’s despicable incitement against Arab Knesset members, Netanyahu is an Ahmad Tibi fan. And don’t forget, Lieberman is a settler from Nokdim, whereas Netanyahu never dreamed of being a settler.
But Lieberman is forgiven everything, if he’ll only topple Netanyahu for us and bring salvation to his people. Just imagine Lieberman in place of Netanyahu. Even this nightmare scenario has been raised over the past few days. Granted, as defense minister, he was fortunately a zero, as he has been in all his ministerial posts. But it would be enough for him to carry out even a fraction of his threats for the portion of the public that’s now seeking the downfall of that devil Netanyahu to cry out for his return.
Remember, Lieberman initially supported “transferring” the Palestinians, then eventually replaced it with forcible land swaps, in order to ensure a majority in Israel for the chosen people. He dreamed up loyalty oaths as a condition for citizenship. He opposed the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. He’s threatened to bomb Egypt’s Aswan Dam and assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. He’s a fan of the death penalty for terrorists. He’s compared the Yesh Gvul anti-occupation organization to kapos in Nazi concentration camps. He’s blamed the left for all of Israel’s fallen and all of its troubles.
His life is always “paradise.” But ours will be much less so if, heaven forbid, he emerges stronger from the crisis he created – all over an issue of principle, of course.

Analysis/Netanyahu Just Suffered One of the Biggest Losses of His Political Career
Anshel Pfeffer//Haaretz/May 30, 2019
Even if Netanyahu wins the next Israeli election and forms a government, it could be too late to stop the slow legal juggernaut putting him on trial
Wednesday wasn’t the worst night in Benjamin Netanyahu’s political career. He’s lost elections and primaries before. He spent an entire decade outside the Prime Minister’s Office after his first term ended disgracefully in 1999. Netanyahu was forced to dissolve the Knesset and call a new election, effectively admitting (though he didn’t say so) he failed to win the April 9 election. He is still prime minister for the next four months. But this was his worst night in 13 years. March 28, 2006, was an even worse night for Netanyahu. Likud crashed in the election to only 12 seats — its worst result ever. As the numbers were coming in, half the Likud lawmakers were already planning how to challenge the leadership. What followed was one of Netanyahu’s most incredible comebacks: With a handful of young MKs and stalwart Reuven Rivlin by his side, he walked into the convention hall and rallied the 50 party members still hanging around in a rousing speech. It was a compelling sight and, for a while, the plotters sheathed their daggers. It gave Netanyahu much-need time to reestablish a hold on his shattered party.
But Netanyahu’s appearance in the Knesset on Wednesday had nothing of the fire of that 2006 night. We saw an ashen-faced Bibi, ranting about the injustice done to him and the nation by Avigdor Lieberman. It was the Netanyahu we never see in public and only hear about in whispers. Unprepared and unscripted. Raging at the destruction of his career. Netanyahu’s powers of persuasion are legendary. He has persuaded Israeli voters time and again that centrist hawks and retired generals are “weak leftists.” Now he was even trying to persuade them that “Lieberman is part of the left.” Lieberman, the man who demands the death penalty for terrorists and wants Israeli-Arabs to pledge allegiance to the state in order to keep their citizenship. It’s a hard sell, even for Netanyahu.
With three and a half months to the next election, Netanyahu hasn’t yet worked on his messages with his strategists. It will be surprising, though, if they continue wasting their efforts on Lieberman. Lieberman hasn’t got that many voters anyway, and they are mostly elderly Russian-speaking immigrants who have been told since they arrived in the Promised Land that Yisrael Beiteinu is the only party looking after them. Netanyahu’s spin doctor, Jonathan Urich, has threatened to spend 10 million shekels ($2.75 million) on campaigning in the Russian media. But he would do better to shore up Likud’s base, like in its merger with Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party. The only other address for “soft right” is Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan. Netanyahu could still find himself needing Lieberman come September 18, the day after the election. Lieberman is realistic and doesn’t believe he can win the next election, though he does believe that by standing up to the Likud-ultra-Orthodox alliance he will win plenty of secular right-wingers and even some centrist voters. What Lieberman wants is to be kingmaker. Despite insisting throughout this crisis that he wants Netanyahu to remain prime minister, when he was asked by reporters moments before the dissolution vote if in the next election he would support Netanyahu, he didn’t answer. Instead he said: “Netanyahu had a chance to form a right-wing government.”
This time around, Lieberman won’t say whether he plans to support Netanyahu or Gantz. And if Netanyahu continues attacking him on the campaign trail, the choice will become much easier for him.
Lieberman will make this election about freedom of religion, linking Netanyahu to the Haredim. It will be easier for him to claim the secularist mantle because Yair Lapid, who once owned it, has merged his Yesh Atid party with Gantz’s Kahol Lavan. As the great opposition to religious coercion, it will be easier for Lieberman to link up with the center-left. In recent days, even Meretz lawmakers have said they are willing to sit with Lieberman in a coalition if it means seeing off Netanyahu. But even so, beating Netanyahu — with all that just happened — is still a tall order. The right-wing/religious bloc has a majority, even without Lieberman. Netanyahu still has a better chance of winning than Gantz. In his angry speech after the vote, Netanyahu said Israel will now be “burning billions [on the election] because of the personal ambitions of one man.” He meant Lieberman, but could have been describing himself.
This will be the third consecutive election brought forward because of Netanyahu’s personal issues. In December, he cut the Knesset’s term by six months in an attempt to preempt the indictments against him. In 2014, he brought the election forward by three years in order to prevent it from passing a law that would have forced his mouthpiece, Israel Hayom, to charge money for its daily rag. And now he’s strangled a new Knesset in its cradle, just 30 days after lawmakers were sworn in, because he won’t allow anyone else to try to form a government. So far, his record in self-centered, selfish elections is mixed. He won one election and the second ended without a result. If Netanyahu wins his third election on September 17, it may prove to be a very short victory, because just two weeks after that his pre-trial hearings begin. Netanyahu is still prime minister, but the Knesset can no longer pass major legislation and his plans for an immunity law and overriding clauses limiting the power of the Supreme Court will have to wait for another day. Even if he forms the next government, it could be too late to stop the slow legal juggernaut putting him on trial. This was Netanyahu’s worst night in 13 years, but he may have even worse nights ahead of him before 2019 is over.

Analysis/Why a New Election? Only Two Men Know
Noa Landau/Haaretz/May 30, 2019
There is an enormous amount of self-interest and conspiracy flowing between Netanyahu and Lieberman, and neither of them has a clean record when it comes to transparency.
Israeli politics too often involves things that are hidden from the public, and that’s certainly true with regard to the bewilderingly complex relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former aide, Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman.
Israelis are used to the political subtext — the winks, the hypocrisy and the doublespeak. Therefore, despite the barrage of official explanations, it was clear to everyone Wednesday night that the real reason for this exceptional political drama couldn’t be the conscription law. The issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox has dogged Israel for decades. If that issue were personified, even it wouldn’t believe it had suddenly been chosen as the excuse for this plot twist.
Similarly, it was clear to everyone that the 2015 election wasn’t really caused by “subversive” behavior of former ministers Tzipi Livni and Yair Lapid that made the government ungovernable, as the ruling Likud party claimed. Nevertheless, that was the reason given to the public, in the absence of any clear evidence to the contrary. “Frequent elections aren’t a good thing, but a government that lacks governability, one that has ministers working against it from the inside, is much worse,” Netanyahu claimed at a press conference at the time. “We need to hold snap elections and set up a broad, united, strong government.” People who said the real reason for that election was the fact that a bill against Sheldon Adelson’s freebie daily Israel Hayom was progressing in the Knesset were accused of exaggerating, indulging in fantasies and even spreading conspiracies.
But, wonder of wonders, Netanyahu himself ultimately admitted that this was the real reason for the move, in response to the police investigation into his attempt to make a deal with a rival daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, by which Yedioth would give Netanyahu favorable coverage in exchange for legislation to harm Israel Hayom. Thus, “Netanyahu is the one who blocked the law to shut down Israel Hayom when he dissolved the Knesset and went to elections” suddenly became the suspect’s official testimony as to why early elections were called.
A few hours before the midnight deadline for forming a government Wednesday, Likud spokesman Jonathan Urich tweeted, “It’s not conscription and it’s not ‘principles.’ Lieberman wants to destroy Netanyahu. The rest is spin.”
There are many people in the political system who agree. In their view, this is an act of personal vengeance — or, in the more utilitarian version of the theory, it is Lieberman’s attempt to strengthen his position in the race for prime minister after the Netanyahu era ends.
But Lieberman has also insisted that he won’t join any government not headed by Netanyahu. And in light of that refusal, this explanation also seems unsatisfactory. The Channel 12 commentator Amit Segal likes to claim that politicians’ conduct in Jerusalem is more similar to the Israeli comedy “Polishuk” than it is to the American drama “House of Cards.” That’s sometimes a correct assessment, but not always. For example, it’s not at all true when it comes to Lieberman. You can say a lot of negative things about him (the list is long), but he’s definitely not stupid. Nor is he emotional. All the commentators who are sure they know the answers to this political drama, both from within the Knesset and outside it, should be sure of one thing only: that they don’t. There is an enormous amount of self-interest, conspiracy and dark intrigues flowing between Netanyahu and Lieberman. Only those two know why Israel is being dragged into another election whirlpool. And neither of them has a clean record when it comes to transparency.

Liberman: Netanyahu Is The Leftist, Not Me
Jerusalem Post/May 30/2019
Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Liberman said he was the victim of discrediting by Likud. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman responded to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling him a Leftist and blaming him for the repeat election in September by turning the tables on Netanyahu. Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Liberman said he was the victim of discrediting by Likud. “When a man from Caeserea calls a man from Nokdim a leftist, I want to remind the prime minister that it was him who voted for the disengagement from Gaza, apologized to the dictator Erdogan and refused the death penalty and the evacuation of Khan El-Ahmar and responded to 700 rockets, transferred $30 million to Hamas.”Liberman said the head of the Likud’s negotiating team, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, and Netanyahu’s son, Yair, need psychicatrists, due to their false accusations against him. He was referring to Levin saying Yisrael Beytenu asked for five portfolios and Yair Netanyahu saying he asked for the appointment of an attorney-general who would clear him of charges in past coalition talks. He said the prime minister did not want Yisrael Beytenu in the government from day one of coalition talks and tried the entire time to “purchase” MKs in Yisrael Beytenu and opposition parties. “Our candidates all got offers to leave,” Liberman said. “Likud expected us to blink and get dictates.”Looking to the future, Liberman said Yisrael Beytenu would not recommend Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to form the next government and hinted that the party would not recommend Netanyahu, because “we want a right-wing nationalist government.”“We will dictate who next prime minister will be,” he promised.

The Likud Blames Liberman: He Will Pay The Price In The End
Jerusalem Post/May 30/2019
“Avigdor Liberman is now part of the Left,” he concluded. “You give him votes, to the Right, and he does not give his voice to the Right.”
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman was targeted following the dispersal of the Knesset after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition. Moments after the vote, Netanyahu claimed that Liberman has joined the left. “Avigdor Liberman is now part of the Left,” he said. “You give him votes, to the Right, and he does not give his voice to the Right.” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (the Likud) told Kan Bet on Thursday that Liberman demanded three ministers and five portfolios during coalition negotiations. During the interview, Levin blamed Liberman for the coalition failure, saying that “it was clear to me that Liberman was not interested in entering the government,” after he received a small number of seats during the April elections. “He decided that he was not interested in entering the government, so he set conditions that were clearly impossible [to achieve].”Levin added that Liberman’s demands were “crazy,” Levin added. However, Yisrael Beytenu hit back at Levin’s claim, calling him the “ultimate liar,” and saying that he “should be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for being the ultimate liar during the coalition talks,” Mako reported. Other Likud members also accused Liberman of trying to topple Netanyahu. “Liberman got everything he asked for,” MK Yoav Kisch told Army Radio on Thursday, “He wanted elections, there was no connection to the draft [bill], all he wanted to do was bring down Netanyahu.”MK Miki Zohar attacked Liberman saying that “this [situation] is one of the biggest farces in politics,” adding that “this is a public fraud” and that Liberman “will pay the price in the end.”

Analysis/Why a New Election? Only Two Men Know
Noa Landau/Haaretz/May 30, 2019
There is an enormous amount of self-interest and conspiracy flowing between Netanyahu and Lieberman, and neither of them has a clean record when it comes to transparency.
Israeli politics too often involves things that are hidden from the public, and that’s certainly true with regard to the bewilderingly complex relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former aide, Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman.
Israelis are used to the political subtext — the winks, the hypocrisy and the doublespeak. Therefore, despite the barrage of official explanations, it was clear to everyone Wednesday night that the real reason for this exceptional political drama couldn’t be the conscription law. The issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox has dogged Israel for decades. If that issue were personified, even it wouldn’t believe it had suddenly been chosen as the excuse for this plot twist.
Similarly, it was clear to everyone that the 2015 election wasn’t really caused by “subversive” behavior of former ministers Tzipi Livni and Yair Lapid that made the government ungovernable, as the ruling Likud party claimed. Nevertheless, that was the reason given to the public, in the absence of any clear evidence to the contrary.
“Frequent elections aren’t a good thing, but a government that lacks governability, one that has ministers working against it from the inside, is much worse,” Netanyahu claimed at a press conference at the time. “We need to hold snap elections and set up a broad, united, strong government.”
People who said the real reason for that election was the fact that a bill against Sheldon Adelson’s freebie daily Israel Hayom was progressing in the Knesset were accused of exaggerating, indulging in fantasies and even spreading conspiracies.
But, wonder of wonders, Netanyahu himself ultimately admitted that this was the real reason for the move, in response to the police investigation into his attempt to make a deal with a rival daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, by which Yedioth would give Netanyahu favorable coverage in exchange for legislation to harm Israel Hayom. Thus, “Netanyahu is the one who blocked the law to shut down Israel Hayom when he dissolved the Knesset and went to elections” suddenly became the suspect’s official testimony as to why early elections were called.
A few hours before the midnight deadline for forming a government Wednesday, Likud spokesman Jonathan Urich tweeted, “It’s not conscription and it’s not ‘principles.’ Lieberman wants to destroy Netanyahu. The rest is spin.”
There are many people in the political system who agree. In their view, this is an act of personal vengeance — or, in the more utilitarian version of the theory, it is Lieberman’s attempt to strengthen his position in the race for prime minister after the Netanyahu era ends.
But Lieberman has also insisted that he won’t join any government not headed by Netanyahu. And in light of that refusal, this explanation also seems unsatisfactory.
The Channel 12 commentator Amit Segal likes to claim that politicians’ conduct in Jerusalem is more similar to the Israeli comedy “Polishuk” than it is to the American drama “House of Cards.” That’s sometimes a correct assessment, but not always. For example, it’s not at all true when it comes to Lieberman. You can say a lot of negative things about him (the list is long), but he’s definitely not stupid. Nor is he emotional.
All the commentators who are sure they know the answers to this political drama, both from within the Knesset and outside it, should be sure of one thing only: that they don’t. There is an enormous amount of self-interest, conspiracy and dark intrigues flowing between Netanyahu and Lieberman. Only those two know why Israel is being dragged into another election whirlpool. And neither of them has a clean record when it comes to transparency.

Netanyahu Dissolves Parliament to Cover for Failure on Coalition Deal
Tel Aviv – Amman – Mohammed Kheir Al-Rawashdeh and Nazir Magally/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 30 May, 2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has succeeded in stopping the opposition from forming the new coalition government after his Likud party was able to clinch a parliamentary vote to dissolve itself and set elections for September 17. The vote came as the deadline for Netanyahu to form a coalition expired, sending the country to an unprecedented second snap election. His failure to form the governing coalition was the result of growing differences with an ally-turned-rival, Avigdor Lieberman, who refused the prime minister’s offers to join the government. Had the deadline passed without the vote, Israel’s president would have given another lawmaker, most likely opposition leader Benny Gantz, an opportunity to put together a coalition. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is expected to arrive in Jerusalem on Thursday after visiting Jordan and Morocco in his attempts to shore up support for his Israel-Palestinian peace plan. Kushner on Wednesday met Jordan’s King Abdullah II who insisted on the “need to intensify efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution that would guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” the royal palace said. A day earlier, the US official met with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.