Knesset adopts referendum bill
Sixty-eight MKs vote in favor of 'continuity law' allowing Israeli parliament to continue legislative discussions on bill obligating national referendum on withdrawals. Labor Chairman Barak supports motion despite opposing bill
Amnon Meranda
The Knesset on Wednesday afternoon adopted a 'continuity law' allowing the Israeli parliament to continue legislative discussions on a bill obligating referendum on withdrawals from the Golan Heights or east Jerusalem.
Sixty-eight Knesset members voted in favor of the motion, including Labor Chairman Ehud Barak and Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer who have expressed their objection to it. Twenty-two MKs voted against the bill and one lawmaker abstained.
Earlier Wednesday, MK Yariv Levin (Likud), chairman of Joint Committee for Discussion on the Referendum Bill, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on to force all Labor Party Knesset members to vote in favor of a referendum bill.
"The Labor Party is being hypocritical, when last month it required all cabinet ministers to vote against the bill because it was appealed by Minister (Dan) Meridor. Now that the government decided to adopt the bill, Labor must be required to support it as well," said Levin.
"If the Labor ministers are not committed to the government and coalition's decisions, they should not expect the Likud's Knesset members' support in matters important to them.
The Knesset is expected on Wednesday to adopt a 'continuity law' allowing the Israeli parliament to continue legislative discussions on a bill obligating referendum on withdrawals from the Golan Heights or east Jerusalem.
Labor Chairman Ehud Barak said that the party's MKs would vote in favor of the bill in case of a no-confidence vote, as demanded by the Meretz faction.
He expressed two reasons for his objection to the law: "First, It imposes unnecessary constraints on the prime minister when negotiating with Syria, and creates a wrong impression in the world that Israel is a peace refuser. The second reason is that a referendum is a complicated legislative matter which somewhat contradicts the structure of the parliamentary regime."
On Tuesday, the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs rejected the appeal submitted by Minister Dan Meridor against the referendum bill by a majority of five to two.
The bill proposes that should the government and the Knesset pass a decision to withdraw from territory under full Israeli sovereignty, such as the Golan Heights or east Jerusalem, that the issue be brought to a national referendum within 180 days of being passed by the Knesset. Only a vote of 80 members of Knesset or more will nullify the need for a referendum.
Labor officials admitted Tuesday that the new situation was problematic for the party. According to Labor Barak's associates, the party opposes the "continuity law" and the defense minister plans to appeal to the prime minister on the matter. The party members may be absent from the vote, although the ministerial committee's decision binds the entire coalition.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) is expected to vote against the bill, saying she believes "a government is elected for the purpose of decision making – not for the purpose of placing these decisions back in the hands of the public."
The bill has also angered Arab Knesset members. MK Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) said that "the prime minister is sacrificing peace and giving in to the right. The message the government is sending is that Israel is not interested in peace and sanctifies the occupation, leading the region into a dangerous and unnecessary war."
Attila Somfalvi and Sharon Roffe-Ofir contributed to this report
