Trouble in the Promised Land for the 'King of Israel'
Unity Government in Israel Disbanding Over Dispute on Draft
By JODI RUDOREN and RICK GLADSTONE, NYT
JERUSALEM — The national unity government formed in Israel two months ago unraveled on Tuesday, when the head of the centrist Kadima Party, Shaul Mofaz, announced that he was withdrawing because of intractable differences with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party over a proposed universal national service law.
A Kadima operative confirmed the breakup Tuesday afternoon, saying of Mr. Mofaz in an e-mail message, “Yes, he’s pulling out.”Another Kadima member, Yoel Hasson, said that 25 of the party’s members of parliament voted in favor of leaving the coalition, with three opposed.
Ynetnews.com, an Israeli news Web site, quoted Mr. Mofaz as telling Kadima Party lawmakers in a closed-door meeting, “It is with deep regret that I say that there is no choice but to decide to leave the government.” Earlier on Tuesday, Kadima released a statement announcing that "negotiations between Kadima and the Likud over the equal distribution of the burden have failed," a reference to the national service law.
The withdrawal of Kadima does not deny Mr. Netanyahu a governing majority in the Knesset. But it does take away the supermajority of 94 of the Parliament’s 120 members that led Time Magazine to dub him “King of Israel.”
(More here.)
JERUSALEM — The national unity government formed in Israel two months ago unraveled on Tuesday, when the head of the centrist Kadima Party, Shaul Mofaz, announced that he was withdrawing because of intractable differences with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party over a proposed universal national service law.
A Kadima operative confirmed the breakup Tuesday afternoon, saying of Mr. Mofaz in an e-mail message, “Yes, he’s pulling out.”Another Kadima member, Yoel Hasson, said that 25 of the party’s members of parliament voted in favor of leaving the coalition, with three opposed.
Ynetnews.com, an Israeli news Web site, quoted Mr. Mofaz as telling Kadima Party lawmakers in a closed-door meeting, “It is with deep regret that I say that there is no choice but to decide to leave the government.” Earlier on Tuesday, Kadima released a statement announcing that "negotiations between Kadima and the Likud over the equal distribution of the burden have failed," a reference to the national service law.
The withdrawal of Kadima does not deny Mr. Netanyahu a governing majority in the Knesset. But it does take away the supermajority of 94 of the Parliament’s 120 members that led Time Magazine to dub him “King of Israel.”
(More here.)
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