Likud agrees to Gantz’s compromise proposal on bill for IDF veterans scholarships

The Likud has agreed to a compromise proposal from Defense Minister Benny Gantz that will see the opposition party back the coalition’s bill aimed at funding scholarships for IDF combat veterans.

The original bill sought to cover two-thirds of the discharged soldiers’ tuition costs. Likud refused to back the legislation unless 100 percent of the tuition was covered. Moments before a vote was scheduled to take place in the plenum, Gantz announced that he was prepared to alter the bill so that it would cover 75% of veterans’ tuition.

The Likud party then held an emergency meeting to weigh the offer and ultimately decided to back it.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Netanyahu invited the group of veterans lobbying for the bill into the room and the group filmed a video thanking the Likud chairman for his support.

Gantz had made submitted the compromise amid reports that the coalition’s Islamist Ra’am party along with rebel Meretz Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi were refusing to back the bill, leaving the narrow coalition short of a majority. With the Likud’s support though, the legislation will have more than enough support to pass.