Gantz pleads to halt today’s legislation and proceed only via agreement and consensus

Here’s more of what National Unity party leader Benny Gantz said a short while ago in the Knesset, urging the coalition to halt today’s legislation and advance only via consensus and agreement.

Pleading for a return to negotiations on consensual judicial reform, Gantz says: “Partial agreement on ‘reasonableness'” would not solve the crisis if this bill is only the first stage of a wider revolution in the way Israel is governed.

He says he knows there are some coalition lawmakers who have told the prime minister that any further legislation must be advanced by consensus. “That is precisely the correct framework to use right now,” he says. “It’s possible to stop, to reach agreement on the ‘reasonableness’ measure, and to continue in a framework of full agreement.”

“We must stop, agree, and continue together.

“I again call on the prime minister and the coalition members who have a sense of responsibility. This framework [of consensus] is right for the State of Israel.”

He tells Netanyahu that halting the process now would not be “surrender” but rather a display of “national responsibility.”

He adds: “I understand the imperative to pass legislation in some form. I don’t want to crush you. But you cannot be allowed to crush the State of Israel, to take us into an unprecedented abyss.

“Agreement in exchange for agreement — that’s the formula. Any suggestion that does not prevent the downhill slide is a trap for the State of Israel and Israeli society.”

“This is the time to show leadership,” he urges the coalition. “We are facing a clear and present danger.”