Netanyahu puts settlers before Israel, again
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blew up coalition talks following right-wing attacks against him for letting Blue and White control the committee that appoints Supreme Court justices.
On the evening of April 6, the Likud and the Blue and White had come close to signing a draft agreement to form a unity government. Two weeks earlier, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz had fractured his own camp by acting on the good-faith belief that the coronavirus crisis required him to put the country above all else and form a government with Benjamin Netanyahu. He certainly never imagined that the war against the novel coronavirus would hardly feature in the coalition negotiations, which have instead focused on matters of concern to Netanyahu, in particular his political survival.
Being at the center of the talks, these issues put reaching an agreement at risk. On top of this, Gantz was prepared to agree that the Netanyahu family receive an official residence, paid for by the state, even after Gantz becomes prime minister, one and a half years down the road in accordance with the coalition agreement.
