Minister of Environmental Protection Amir Peretz today resigned from the government, following harsh criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct on diplomatic issues. Peretz met today with Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, the chairman of his party (Hatenua), and notified her that he would submit his resignation. Livni said that she respected his decision, and that they would continue to act jointly in the party. As of now, it is unclear who will replace Perez as minister.
After announcing his resignation during the cabinet meeting, Peretz had a verbal confrontation with Netanyahu. "Instead of the steering the ship and looking for solutions, you're looking for someone to blame," he told Netanyahu. "It's the prime minister's job to rise above personal criticism and political considerations, and to show responsibility to Israel's citizens. It's unacceptable when people with a broad national and international perspective who also regard a diplomatic solution as a key part of their effort are accused of surrendering to terrorism." Peretz continued, "I acted firmly against terrorism, no less than you, against both Hezbollah and Hamas, and I believed in and worked on behalf of a diplomatic process as part of a general security concept for Israel." Peretz managed to resign before Netanyahu fired him, following his remarks yesterday on Channel 2. Among other things, Peretz said that he did not intend to support the budget, which he described as lacking social concern, "which does not address the people's descent into poverty and inability to make a dignified living." Netanyahu answered, "According to you people, the only initiative is to jump off the cliff and surrender. The job of a leader is to recognize what reality is, and to create unity against it.
Netanyahu continued, "We're in the middle of a global campaign of Islamist incitement by extremist Islam, which denies not only our right to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, but also our right to exist as a people and as individuals. Everyone understands that. We see it all over the Middle East, with countries crumbling and falling into the hands of extremist Islam, which allows no room for the existence of Israel. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority, headed by Abu Mazen, is a partner in this, and we're hearing it from Arab heads of state who have not yet been burned by this fire," Netanyahu finished his remarks and turned to Peretz, saying, "I thank you for realizing that your place is not at the cabinet table."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 9, 2014
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