Gantz offers to resume overhaul compromise talks, but Likud spurns conditions
National Unity chief shot down by both sides after proposing negotiations on ‘reasonableness’ bill in exchange for PM agreeing to only pass rest of planned shakeup by consensus
Opposition party head MK Benny Gantz on Wednesday offered to enter immediate negotiations with the coalition to develop a consensus approach to changing the judicial “reasonableness” test, as a bill to outlaw its application to the cabinet and ministers’ decisions speeds towards passage.
But he conditioned the proffer on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committing to only advancing ambitions judicial reforms sought by the government through consensus, a condition the ruling Likud party swiftly rejected.
“I call on Netanyahu and all the responsible members of this house – you have a national duty to accept the proposal,” Gantz said in a Knesset press conference.
“This evening we can convene at the President’s Residence,” the site of consensus talks before they were frozen in June, “and discuss finding an agreed-upon framework for the reasonableness test, in a way that will not open a window to corruption and will preserve the principles of democracy,” the National Unity leader said.
His comments came an hour after President Isaac Herzog wrapped up a speech to Congress in which he promised to redouble efforts to reach a consensus on judicial reforms, while praising the strength and resilience of Israel’s democracy.
“As head of state, I will continue doing everything to reach a broad public consensus, and to preserve, protect and defend the State of Israel’s democracy,” Herzog said.
But the difficulty of actually reaching that consensus was underlined by Likud’s rejection of Gantz’s condition that all future judicial changes only progress through “consensus.”
“This is also the basic condition for dialogue – that the prime minister commits, in the presence and with the backing of the president, that if we reach agreements, from now on judicial and governance reforms will be carried out only by broad agreement, including all the legislative elements discussed at the President’s Residence,” Gantz said.
“No further legislation will be advanced without broad consensus,” he added.
In response, Likud blamed the National Unity leader for the failure of the earlier negotiations and dismissed his terms for resuming them.
“We expected to hear a serious offer. Unfortunately we received another dictate. If Gantz seriously wants dialogue and compromise, he’s invited to the Prime Minister’s Office this evening,” the party said in a statement.
Gantz was also brushed off by leaders of the ongoing anti-government protests, who called for Israelis to rally Thursday evening “to save the country.”
“Only an uncompromising and determined protest will prevent dictatorship,” they said in a statement.
“The time has come for Gantz to internalize that Netanyahu is lying through his teeth and wants to turn Israel into a dangerous democracy,” they added, referring to comments far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made about the premier before his return to power last year.
Sources in opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, which also took part in the judicial negotiations, said the party did not plan to join Gantz in urging the resumption of talks. Gantz bolted an alliance with Lapid in 2020 to join a Netanyahu-led government.
In his remarks, Gantz warned of fallout if no agreement is reached. He noted the upcoming Tisha b’Av fast mourning the destruction of the Second Temple, saying that Israel “was on the path to…destruction.”
“The security situation is the most challenging we’ve known since the Cold War, the danger of war on fronts both near and far. Terror strikes in our streets, our enemies get the wrong message, eroding our deterrence,” said Gantz, a former defense minister and military chief.
“I’m very worried. This is a clear and immediate danger,” he said, reiterating his opposition to threats by reservists to stop volunteering in protest of the overhaul.
Hours before he spoke, hundreds of reservists signed a declaration vowing not to volunteer for duty in protest of the overhaul.
Gantz praised Herzog’s address Wednesday to a joint session of the US Congress while noting the recent frictions between Netanyahu’s government and the Biden administration over the overhaul and Israeli policies in the West Bank.
“Not only has our security been harmed, but also our diplomatic strength,” Gantz charged. “Israel can’t lose its strategic assets.”
He also noted the increased cost of goods and services, surging violent crime and said the country’s “internal resilience” has been harmed by the current coalition, which along with Netanyahu’s Likud includes ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties.
“Israel will win any war against any enemy, except for a civil war in which we’ll all lose,” Gantz warned. “The disintegration of Israeli society is the greatest threat that we’ve faced in the 75 years of our existence.”
Gantz’s remarks came as the coalition continued to move ahead with legislating the so-called reasonableness bill, with the Knesset House Committee voting earlier Wednesday to approve the fast-tracked schedule for passing the measure into law before parliamentary recess at the end of July.
According to the schedule, the Knesset plenum will open on Sunday, when it does not usually convene, and Knesset Constitution Law and Justice Committee chair MK Simcha Rothman will present the legislation. Objections and debate on the bill will continue until noon on Monday, after which the vote will begin.
The House Committee limited the number of votes on such objections to 140, with chairman Likud MK Ofir Katz accusing the opposition of “negatively exploiting the tool of using objections.”
Meanwhile, the opposition was using a packed legislative agenda as a filibuster to delay final preparations required to bring the bill to a vote on Sunday.
Dozens of bills were scheduled for Wednesday’s plenum session, with opposition sources saying that their plan is to drag the plenum into Thursday “at least,” but the committee resumed late Wednesday when the Knesset declared a recess.
Knesset committees — including the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee handling the reasonableness bill — are generally forced to pause their activities while the plenum is in session.
By keeping the plenum full with a stacked agenda, the opposition was attempting to delay the Constitution Committee’s vote to approve the bill for its second and third — final — readings.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
