Knesset Hears Four No-Confidence Motions
By Tzippe Barrow
CBN News - Jerusalem Bureau
May 3, 2007
CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - The release of the Winograd Commission's interim report late Monday, detailing the government's failures during the first five days of the Second Lebanon War, has shaken the country from any semblance of a "business as usual" state of mind.
Following Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's press conference late Wednesday to make public her "private advice" to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding his resignation, the prime minister convened an emergency meeting of his Kadima faction.
All week long, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has heard from politicians calling on him to resign. Now he's hearing it from the streets, as Israelis protest the government's failures in last summer's Lebanon war. Click Play on the right to watch John Waage's report and to hear Pat Robertson weigh in.
At the meeting, 26 of the 29 parliamentarians expressed support of the prime minister's decision not to step down from office.
Only one of the three calling for his resignation, Kadima coalition chairman Avigdor Yitzhaki, resigned from the government. In the blink of an eye, Olmert replaced him with his loyal associate Tzahi Hanegbi.
Neither Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni nor Member of Knesset Marina Solodkin tendered their resignations after publicly calling for Olmert to step down.
Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told reporters afterward that Wednesday had been a "great day for Kadima, for the government and for the prime minister," and Olmert's party colleagues were standing with him.
According to the Israeli media, there are differing opinions as to whether Olmert should fire, demote or allow Tzipi Livni to remain deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
Former Shin Bet (General Security Agency) head Avi Dichter advised the prime minister not to fire her, while others insist she should be removed from office.
"After she did what she did, there is no other alternative but to fire her, as her conduct was improper," Olmert's strategic advisor, Tal Zilberstein, told Israel's Channel 10.
Emergency Knesset Session
A petition signed by 27 Knesset members calling for an emergency session to review the findings of the Winograd Commission brought the parliament's spring recess to an early close.
At Thursday's session, Knesset members will hear four separate no-confidence motions to bring down the government. Each speaker will give a five-minute analysis of the Winograd Commission's findings.
Wednesday night, at a meeting of the Likud faction in Tel Aviv, party chairman and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu, the leading contender for prime minister, told his colleagues that the nation has lost confidence in the present government.
"It's obvious to everyone that this government has lost what was left of the public's trust, and it's clear that it should give its mandate back to the people and allow them to decide," he said.
Other parties expected to present a no-confidence motion before the Knesset include the ultra-left-wing Meretz party, the Arab parties, and the National Religious Party.
Rally at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square
Meanwhile, the momentum is gathering for tonight's rally in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. After much deliberation, the event's organizers decided to forego political speeches at the rally.
Retired Major General Uzi Dayan, the main impetus behind the event, would like to see Israelis from all walks of life, who believe Israel needs a new government, make their voices heard.
"This is the time for the public to say what it has to say loudly and clearly," said Dayan, "and to send 'the failures' home."
Since Monday's release of the Winograd report, demonstrators have been walking to Tel Aviv from around the country, carrying posters admonishing the government to "go home."
Jerusalem Post correspondent Haviv Rettig spoke with several college students en route to the rally.
"The call for Olmert to resign comes from the general spirit of the entire nation," said one student from the Judea and Samaria College in Ariel.
"I'm both a student and a reservist [in the Northern Command reconnaissance unit]," said another from Tel Aviv University. "In how many ways is Olmert going to ignore me?"
Sources: The Jerusalem Post, YNet, Arutz7
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