The Knesset's winter session opened on Monday amid growing tensions between coalition partners Likud and Blue and White. The infighting has hobbled the government's work and has seen ministers from both parties trade acerbic barbs on a daily basis, making it clear that the unity government's days are numbered.
It is widely believed that the coalition will be unable to pass the state budget. Under Israeli law, this means that the Knesset must dissolve and new elections must be held.
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Addressing the plenum, President Reuven Rivlin leveled blistering criticism at the government.
"It seems like we have lost the [moral] compass we have had since the state was founded, the fundamental principles and values that we are committed to upholding. We must look ahead. The coronavirus is here to stay, and we cannot deal with it if our hands are tied behind our backs.
"For more than two years, Israel has been without a budget," he said, adding that the toll the pandemic was taking on the welfare and education systems places Israel "at risk of losing the next generation. ... Businesses are failing, unemployment is high, the deficit is growing and the healthcare system is overwhelmed. Pass the budget now and give Israel's economy the basic stability it needs," Rivlin demanded,
Addressed the rising social tensions in the country, the president said that "as the crisis deepened, so did the disagreements and the splits between us. I never imagined the force with which disunity could hit us. ... The current crisis is amongst the worst we have experienced because, unlike other crises, it takes our basic freedoms from us and undermines our foundations as a Jewish and democratic state. ... Inconceivable harm has come to the freedom to worship, the freedom to gather and protest, the freedom of movement, and the freedom to work.
"Friends, these are volatile times," Rivlin cautioned. "Israeli tribalism is bursting through the cracks, and fingers of blame are pointed by one part of society toward the other. Stop! Please stop! This is not our way. Only by recognizing and listening to each other can we deal with the crisis upon us."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium next and said Israel was "on the right path" to containing the second wave of the coronavirus.
"I call on all public leaders, from the Left and from the Right, to act together and show solidarity. We must lower the levels of brutality and violence, which are not acceptable in any situation, and together we will lower infection and mortality rates."
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of fueling division in Israeli society.
"People feel abandoned and exposed, so they look for someone to embrace them. They feel like there isn't a government. There is no one they can trust. There is no one that cares. So if there is no state, at least there is a tribe," Lapid said. "The problem doesn't start at the bottom, it starts at the top, it starts with the government."
Commenting on the constant coalition infighting he said, "People are sick, people are dying, why can't you work together? Why can't you pass a budget? Every fifth business in Israel has closed, why aren't you doing anything? How dare you stay stuck in your toxic arguments? How dare the prime minister continue to focus on his own criminal trial?" he said.
He declared that the coalition was incapable of tackling the pandemic and therefore called for a new government.
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