If new elections are held, it’ll be because Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu needs it for personal reasons, Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz claims.
Gantz was responding to a compromise suggested by Derech Eretz MK Zvi Hauser, who urged a delay in the deadline to pass the budget by 100 days, during which time Israel’s government would agree on a budget and a plan for stabilising the economy, with no appointments made during those 100 days, while a new committee would examine how senior officials are appointed.
Hauser also suggested that instead, the focus would be on managing the coronavirus outbreak, preparing for flu season, and security concerns on the Gaza and northern borders.
Speaking to News 13, Gantz said: “From my perspective, this committee needs to and can stand up and examine the ways in which we want to appoint people, and anyways we will need to reach agreements on this issue.
“In another two days, if you go to new elections, it’ll be because [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu needs it for his own personal reasons. It’s a shame that it should happen this way – there’s no reason not to solve the budget issue. I’m not capable of explaining anything, other than personal motives. He has three indictments, and it would be appropriate for all of us to act with humility.”
Gantz warned, “If we hold new elections, we may end up with a civil war.
“Netanyahu needs to ask himself, ‘What did I do, as Prime Minister, to ensure that there will not be elections?’ He did not keep the section on the budget. We are prepared for any solution. All that needs to be done is to return to the agreement. There’s no reason to bring us to elections.”
According to the agreement between Netanyahu and Gantz, if a budget is not approved by August 24, the Knesset will be automatically dissolved.
