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Netanyahu, Benjamin

Netanyahu's Government on Thin Ice as Foreign Minister Quits Over Peace Process

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The resignation of David Levy, Israel's foreign minister, has deepened the crisis threatening to bring down the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Levy's Gesher party, with five MPs, has defected from the coalition, leaving Netanyahu's Knesset majority on the thinnest of wafers. The move has sparked a simmering revolt within the Likud party, with some members openly questioning Netanyahu's leadership and threatening to walk out if he hands over more land to the Palestinians.

Key Takeaways:

  • David Levy, Israel's foreign minister, has resigned from the government, citing Netanyahu's abandonment of the peace process and ignoring of Israel's poor and unemployed.
  • The defection of Gesher party's five MPs reduces Netanyahu's Knesset majority to 61 out of 120, making his government vulnerable to a no-confidence motion.
  • Netanyahu faces a brewing revolt within the Likud party, with some members questioning his leadership and threatening to leave if he continues to hand over land to Palestinians.
  • The opposition Labour Party has announced that it will bring a motion of no-confidence in parliament next week.
  • Levy has threatened to resign five times before, but this time he intends to make his departure permanent, despite declining to rule out future partnership with the Labour opposition.
  • Netanyahu has vowed to continue as his own foreign minister and pursue a "secure peace" with Palestinians.
  • President Clinton has invited Netanyahu to Washington on January 20, but the Prime Minister's weakened position may hinder his ability to make concessions in the peace process.

Statistics:

  • Netanyahu's Knesset majority has dropped to 61 out of 120 after the defection of Gesher party's five MPs.
  • Levy has resigned five times in the past, but this time he intends to make his departure permanent.
  • 20 January: the date presidential candidate Bill Clinton has invited Netanyahu to Washington.
  • 1998 budget: the parliamentary vote that prompted Levy's resignation, set to take place today.

Sources:

  • Eric Silver in Jerusalem, "Desertion of the dove", *The Guardian*,
  • President Bill Clinton, as quoted in *The Jerusalem Post*,

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