Netanyahu said to offer Bennett 3 important ministries

With only 12 days left to present his new governing coalition to the president, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett on Friday, reportedly offering his Jewish Home party a host of attractive positions.

Bennett himself was said to have been offered the Strategic Affairs Ministry, in addition to the Economy Ministry which he currently holds. The party’s no. 3, Ayelet Shaked, was said to be headed to the Ministry of Culture and Sport, and Uri Ariel was to receive the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The office he currently holds, the Ministry of Construction and Housing, was said to be earmarked for Kulanu member Yoav Galant.

The Orthodox-nationalist Jewish Home party was also offered the role of deputy minister for one of its members in an unnamed ministry, and the chairmanship of a major Knesset committee, most likely the influential Constitution, Law and Justice committee, according to Channel 2.

Bennett has yet to respond to the offer, but an agreement between the two parties is expected to be reached sometime next week, according to Channel 2.

A major stumbling block in negotiations remains Jewish Home’s wrangling with Shas over the Religious Affairs portfolio, according to the TV report. Jewish Home held the office in the outgoing government, but Netanyahu’s reported promise to now deliver the ministry to Aryeh Deri’s ultra-Orthodox party has enraged Bennett. The post was also coveted by Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman, who is expected to remain at the Foreign Ministry. Netanyahu and Liberman also held talks Friday.

According to Israel Radio, the Likud has offered a compromise by which the religious affairs minister will be from Shas, while his deputy will be a Bennett appointee.

Yisrael Beytenu has also presented Netanyahu with a problem, due to its staunch opposition to rolling back legislation on universal national service for the ultra-Orthodox and reforms of the state conversion and marriage registration systems, matters which Shas and UTJ seek to change. If Netanyahu concedes these issues to Shas and UTJ, party officials told Ynet that Yisrael Beytenu has no qualms about joining the opposition.

Likud negotiator Ze’ev Elkin on Friday called on Jewish Home and Yisrael Beytenu to show flexibility. Speaking to Israel Radio, Elkin urged the parties to act responsibly, and to understand that all sides would be required to compromise in order to form a government.

“We are on the home stretch, and if parties of the national camp (meaning right-wing parties) want a government from the national camp to be formed, they need to move forward in the negotiation process,” he said.

Meanwhile, incumbent Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) was set to remain in his post, according to Channel 2, while senior Likud members Gilad Erdan and Yuval Steinitz were said to be competing for the Education Ministry.

The prime minister had an easier time negotiating with Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party, as an agreement between the two is reported to be all but finalized.

Netanyahu and Kahlon reportedly reached an agreement — just before Memorial Day — on Kulanu joining the coalition. Kulanu will receive three ministries: the Finance Ministry, the Construction and Housing Ministry and the Environmental Protection Ministry. The prime minister is also said to have conceded to Kahlon’s demand to shelve legislation that would restrict the powers of the Supreme Court, laws which Kahlon opposes.

The legislation which the Likud had planned to advance — and which Kahlon vetoed — included a bill that would severely limit the Supreme Court’s ability to annul bills passed by the Knesset, as well as allow the plenum to re-legislate laws shot down by the court; and a bill that would change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee to give the government increased clout in the process.

The prime minister has been racing the clock in order establish a new government by the May 7 deadline. Under Israeli election rules, if Netanyahu fails to form a coalition by that date, President Reuven Rivlin can assign someone else the task of doing so.

AP contributed to this report.