Compromise pushes back deadline on talks while freeing up immediate funds

JERUSALEM－Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted a proposal on Sunday to extend budget negotiations, preventing the government from collapsing and plunging the country into a new election.

"Now is the time for unity, not for elections," he said in a news conference, trying to avoid dragging the country into a fourth parliamentary elections in less than two years.

Following a historic agreement to establish official relations with the United Arab Emirates, and with the country struggling with a coronavirus outbreak, Netanyahu said he felt it was wrong to go to elections.

As of Sunday, the cumulative number of Israeli cases reached 102,663, with the death toll at 834.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli Employment Service released data showing that the unemployment rate in Israel stands at 20.8 percent, with more than 851,000 out of work, compared to 27.5 percent at the end of April.

Netanyahu said he accepted a compromise that would give the sides an additional 100 days to reach a budget deal, and in the meantime direct spending to struggling areas of the economy and society.

"This compromise deal is the right answer to the Israeli economy at this time," said the prime minister.

His announcement came after Israeli lawmakers spent much of the day unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a last-minute deal to push back a looming budget deadline, expiring on Monday night.

The political crisis pitting the prime minister against rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party, is ostensibly over the country's national budget.

After three deadlocked elections, Netanyahu and Gantz reached a power-sharing agreement in April to form a government to address the virus crisis. As part of their coalition deal, Netanyahu's Likud party and Gantz's Blue and White agreed to pass a two-year budget.

Disagreement on budget

But Netanyahu has insisted on passing a budget to cover only the remainder of 2020, saying it will provide immediate assistance to the economy. Gantz is adamant that the government honor its agreement and pass one for 2020 and 2021. Their disagreement has again brought the country to the brink of political meltdown.

Under Israeli law, if the government does not approve a state budget within 90 days after it is formed, the parliament will automatically be dissolved and new elections will be triggered.

But pushing back the deadline would only kick the budget crisis down the road. The two parties are at loggerheads over several key issues－including judicial appointments and the annexation of West Bank settlements－and the government has been beset by infighting.

Gantz also complained that Netanyahu left him and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in the dark about the deal announced earlier this month to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates.

However, the new elections, if there will be any, would plunge the country into political chaos during a deep economic and public health crisis, while the prime minister is facing a criminal trial over charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of using the budget battle to force a new election in hopes of securing a friendlier parliament that could help resolve his legal troubles.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. His trial began in June but he has refused to step down from office, despite weekly protests in which tens of thousands of Israelis across the country have called on him to resign.

Nonetheless, recent polls indicate Netanyahu would score a sizable victory if snap elections were held. By dissolving the government, Netanyahu would avoid giving Gantz the premiership in November 2021 as required by the coalition agreement.

Xinhua - Agencies