“Even today, at the height of the vote, we tried to reach agreements. But the other side continued to refuse.”
By Meir Dolev, World Israel News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in an address to the nation on Monday night that he had attempted to reach a compromise with the opposition on the ‘reasonableness’ bill until the 90th hour, but that every offer for compromise was rejected out of hand.
“I say with pain: Not a single one of our compromise proposals was accepted. Not even one. Even today in the Knesset plenum, at the height of the vote, until the last moment, we tried to reach agreements. But the other side continued to refuse,” he said in the televised address.
“It is possible to continue to debate and argue but it is also possible to do something else: It is possible to reach consensus regarding what comes next,” he said, adding, “Let us reach agreement. This is my call to you, and I extend my hand and call for peace and mutual respect between us.”
Addressing the public, Netanyahu explained, “Today we carried out a necessary democratic process. This process was intended to bring back a measure of balance between the authorities – what we had here for 50 years.”
He further detailed that the revised standard enables the elected government to carry out policies based on the majority’s wishes.
“Fulfilling the will of the voters is absolutely not the end of democracy, but is the essence of democracy,” the prime minister remarked.
The Israeli premier added that he would attempt to resume negotiations over the judicial reform plan with the opposition throughout the Knesset’s summer recess and even until November.
He concluded his address by saying that the “IDF must remain outside of any political disagreement.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to his proposal for negotiations, calling it “empty of content” and a “lie,” because Netanyahu was at the mercy of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Cvir, and MK Simcha Rothman.
“Netanyahu’s proposal to return to the talks is empty of content because it is not within his authority. As everyone who was involved in attempts to reach broad agreements found out, Benjamin Netanyahu is not really the prime minister of Israel. He is a prisoner of Levin and Rothman and Ben Gvir. They decide and he does what they say.
“Netanyahu’s statement this evening is another lie, the sole purpose of which is to take the pressure off the Americans.”