A much-awaited unity deal, inked on Monday night, stipulates that Benjamin Netanyahu who has been serving as the country's interim PM will remain prime minister for another year and a half, until October 2021. When his time is up, he will be succeeded by Benny Gantz with Netanyahu becoming his deputy and the minister of defence.
'Thank God for Unity':
For many the announcement, which put an end to a 17-month political deadlock that resulted in three elections was a sigh of relief.
One Twitter user wrote: "I want to thank both of you, Netanyahu and Gantz, for finally setting up a unity government during a time that Israel needs it so much; to be able to cope with the COVID-19 challenge and Iran's [nuclear] threat. I pray to G-d that he will give both of you the wisdom to take the right decisions during this challenging time".
אני רוצה להודות לשניכם @ Netanyahu @ Gantzbe על שיצרתם סוף סוף ממשלת אחדות שישראל זקוקה לה נואשות במהלך משבר # Covid_19 ואיום איראן. מאי הק "ב ייתן לך את החוכמה לקבל את ההחלטות הנכונות לאיחוד ולהגן על האומה בתקופה מאתגרת זו. @netanyahu @gantzbe
— (((Haya Eytan))) (@TeachESL) April 21, 2020
Another tweep wrote: "The current political situation has created a good alternative. Any attempt to drag the country into a fourth round of elections would fail. Unity is a good thing..."
המצב הפוליטי שנוצר הוא אלטרנטיבה מצוינת. כל ניסיון נוסף לבחירות היה נכשל. אחדות היא דבר טוב. בפוליטיקה אין ימין ואין שמאל. יש מרכז ואינטרסים משותפים.
— Aharon.y (@Aharony5) April 20, 2020
They are not alone. After Gantz decided to split from his previous allies who were reluctant to sit down for talks with Netanyahu, a Channel 12 poll revealed that 56 percent of Blue and White voters supported the move paving the way for a unity government in Israel.
Earlier surveys also showed a strong preference by the Israeli public for a joint coalition where Netanyahu and Gantz would serve as the country's PMs.
No More than a Burden:
But now with the unity already a done deal, for many, it is still no more than a fancy word.
"This is not a unity government. Rather it is a government whose only goal is to get Netanyahu out of prison..." wrote one tweep referring to Netanyahu's trial set for mid May where he is expected to lead a legal battle in an attempt to prove his innocence in a series of graft probes that include buying positive press and receiving illegal gifts from a rich donor. Allegations that Netanyahu vehemently denies.
לא אחדות.
— Niv Lilien (@nivli) April 20, 2020
ממשלת גנבים שכל תכליתה לחלץ את נתניהו מהכלא.
גנבתם מיליון ושלוש מאות אלף קולות בוחרים.
תיזכרו לדיראון כמחסלי הדמוקרטיה הישראלית.
"I can tolerate everything but don't call it a unity. It is not. It is another Netanyahu government. Unity cannot be established as long as this despised person remains in the chair of the PM. We will not accept any government led by him and we will fight him and whoever is going to join his path", warned another Twitter user.
אני יכול לסבול הכל — רק אך תקראו לזה ממשלת אחדות. זה לא. זו ממשלת נתניהו נוספת. אין אחדות ולא תהיה כל עוד האדם המתועב הזה מכהן כראש ממשלה. לעולם לא נקבל את נתניהו כראש ממשלה, לא נשלים עם קיומה של אף ממשלה בראשותו, וניאבק בה ובכל מי ששותף לה בכל דרך
— Dan Adin דן עדין (@adin_dan) April 20, 2020
Netanyahu's alleged attempt to avoid trial was not Israeli tweeps' only concern. Others were furious that Gantz aided the "destruction" of any peace agreement with the Palestinians by joining Bibi's hawkish government.
Yariv Openheimer, an activist from the movement Peace Now, an NGO that promotes a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tweeted: "It will be a government of annexation", he wrote alluding to Washington's "deal of the century" peace plan that Israel's political duo vowed to promote.
"The only meaningful thing that this government will push hard to promote will be the destruction of a two-state solution, the damage to our relations with the Arab world, a severe blow to the peace camp and a significant boost to settlers".
ממשלת סיפוח!
— Yariv Oppenheimer (@yarivop) April 20, 2020
זאת הפעולה המשמעותית היחידה שהממשלה מתחייבת לקדם: הרס הסיכוי לשתי מדינות, פגיעה ביחסי השלום עם העולם הערבי, מכה למחנה השלום וניצחון למתנחלים.
Unity Won't Solve Israel's Economic Woes:
Others, however, were more concerned about Israel's economic problems.
"It is not a unity government but a coalition that's detached from reality. While we have a million and a half of unemployed and many more people will lose their jobs, they establish a government with 36 ministers", one tweep lamented.
זו לא ממשלת אחדות, זו יותר ממשלת ניתוק.
— EtiRiis (@EtiRiis) April 20, 2020
מיליון וחצי מובטלים במדינה ומיליונים ילכו
ל36 ועוד 18 סגני שרים. ועוד תוספת שרים לחוק הנורווגי
האנשים האלה לא יודעים מה מצפה להם מהציבור.
ערוץ 13 pic.twitter.com/BvqZ4JZdmz
Before the agreement was reached, Israel had some 28 ministers, most of which came from Netanyahu's Likud. The prime minister and Gantz realised that the amount of ministerial positions would not be sufficient to satisfy the army of parliamentarians in their respective camps so a decision was made to expand the number to 36 portfolios and 16 deputy positions, an unprecedented number even in Israeli terms.
The practical meaning of this is that Israeli taxpayers will need to fork out some $64 million annually to be able to afford such a government, money that many believe the country cannot spare given the dire economic repercussions of COVID-19 which has already claimed the lives of more than 170 Israelis.
Since the eruption of the virus in Israel at the end of February, the Jewish state has implemented a number of strict measures aimed at curbing the spread of the contagious disease. These included not only full lockdowns of towns and neighbourhoods, but also the shutting down of government offices, public institutions, and more than 500,000 small and medium Israeli businesses, measures that have sent the country's unemployment rate soaring to an all-time high of 25 percent.
