17th Knesset to be sworn in
Israel's 120 Knesset members, 41 of them new, set to pledge allegiance to State Monday, hoping for more successful term than their predecessors
Out of the 120 Knesset members, 41 will be new, 17 will be women (four less than in the previous Knesset), and 36 will be religious and ultra-Orthodox. The youngest Knesset member will be 29-year-old Alex Miller (Israel Our Home), while the oldest one remains 82-year-old Shimon Peres (Kadima).
Two main issues are expected to be at the top of the Knesset agenda once it starts its work: The convergence plan and social issues. Kadima, Knesset's the strongest party, headed by Ehud Olmert, plans on transferring about 70,000 West Bank settlers into the permanent borders inside the Green Line during the coming term.
Kadima's four religious Knesset members are expected to play a key role in the bridging and dialogue with the population facing evacuation, in a bid that the difficult crisis which preceded the disengagement will not be repeated.
'Olmert won't be treated as Sharon was'
"I am not very excited about the ceremony, I am more excited about the day after, when we start working," new MK Prof. Menachem Ben-Sasson, one of Kadima's religious members, said.
"There are no defined work plans for the four of us yet, but some of us have family members and ties with the future evacuees. We would like to utilize to the fullest a more reasonable and less painful move than in the disengagement," he added.
"There is a window of opportunity and we must implement the plan. Last time the public leaders misled the settlers to believe that it won’t happen. This time it is clear that this will take place. I believe the population will be more rational," he said.
Sasson is aware of the fact that he may be at the forefront as a religious man and says he has no intention to ignore it.
"I feel that I'm on a mission, and therefore I can probably take a lot. The fact that we are religious Jews will be a burden, but I hope that the Knesset will know how to define the problems in a rational, rather then mystic, way. Otherwise, we will find ourselves in the same barrel we were in on the eve of the Gaza evacuation," he said.
"It is also obvious that Olmert will not be treated as Ariel Sharon was treated," he added.
New Knesset members (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Sasson expects that the Knesset voting on the convergence plan will not depend on the votes of the Arab MKs.
"Compared to the previous time, the issue is being stated in a very clear way and one cannot say 'I didn't know.' The Arab MKs are citizens of the State of Israel. It is obvious that there are those among the public who have a problem with it, and therefore it won't happen (vote won't be decided by Arab MKs)," he said.
Pensioners eye Finance Committee
The new Knesset will not be able to refrain from dealing with social issues, especially in light of the fact that the public elected many Knesset members to deal with these problems.
New MK Yitzhak Galanti (Pensioners party) promised: "I will deal with social and economic issues, and will also be happy to deal with the environment issues. As far as I am concerned, a membership in the Finance Committee is possible – it is an honorable and desirable role. The question is if they will really let us have it."
"From the party's point of view, I hope that we will accumulate power and accomplish results in favor of our voters."
Members of the Pensioners party (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Regarding the political issues, Galanti promises to back Olmert's convergence plan.
"We must exert efforts to try and reach an understanding and negotiations with the Palestinians so that we will have a chance to live together," he said.
"I am less in favor of unilateral moves, but if there is no choice and they continue to hurt us in a way that leaves no possibility for a dialogue, we will not reject unilateral moves where there is no partner," he added.
An interesting battle is expected to develop between members of the Arab factions and Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Our Home party.
The first shot was fired by MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al), who is expected to submit a bill Monday stating that "the government will not appoint as a minister any person whose party's platform or ideas he distributes call for cancelling the citizenship of some of the citizens of the State of Israel for ethnic reasons."
