Still no agreement to pass ‘Metro Law’; Yisrael Beytenu may delay Knesset dispersal

No agreement has been reached to pass a bill to enable the creation of a Tel Aviv-centered metro system, Army Radio reports.

Coalition parties Yisrael Beytenu and Labor have been working to get the legislation passed by submitting reservations to the dispersal bill that Yisrael Beytenu pledges not to pull until the so-called Metro Law is approved.

The law is part of the country’s most ambitious public transportation project, aiming to connect Tel Aviv’s commuter zones and reduce traffic.

Negotiators from the opposition Likud party offered to enable the passing of Metro Law in exchange for their preferred election date and passing a bill to revoke renegade MK Amichai Chikli’s ouster from Yamina.

Coalition negotiators, led by New Hope MK Ze’ev Elkin and Yesh Atid MK Boaz Toporovsky, refused to budge.

“Unfortunately coalition officials have torpedoed all options so we will not pull any reservations and go all the way,” Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky tweeted early this morning, after dispersal failed to pass by midnight on Wednesday.