Netanyahu says Israeli government in free fall
Israeli government busy surviving instead of governing, says opposition leader
"The Israeli government is in free fall with one failure following another. This was to be expected as the government's stuttering response to the Mecca accord was just asking for a political downfall," said opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The government should be busy governing, but instead, it is engaged in survival. Allowing Hamas to participate in the 2006 elections and the faltering Israeli policy have brought about this collapse," he told Likud members during a visit to the Jordan Rift Valley.
Netanyahu added that the Likud was committed to keeping the Jordan Rift Valley under Israeli sovereignty: "It is Israel's eastern security strip. A government under our leadership would open highways in the region, make land available and develop modern agriculture."
MK Gideon Sa'ar, chairman of the Likud faction said during the visit: "The Olmert-Livni government is responsible for a series of political and PR oversights that have resulted in the removal of the political and economic embargo on the Hamas government."
"Our government is shell-shocked. Within a year they have allowed elections to take place in Jerusalem with Hamas participation and then issued a stuttering response to the Mecca deal. During the previous term Hamas was inserted into the EU list of terrorists, and now, the Olmert government is systematically undermining these achievements and allowing Hamas to gain international recognition," he stated.
The government decided Sunday to boycott the new Palestinian government. The vote passed 19-0, with two abstentions: Raleb Majadele and Eitan Cabel.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the opening of the cabinet meeting that Israel "expected the international community not to be deceived by the new Palestinian government and to continue to isolate the government that does not accept the Quartet demands."
Olmert added that the new government "restricted our ability to hold a dialogue with the head of the Palestinian Authority and limited the topics that could be discussed in the near future.
"We cannot communicate with the government or with any of its ministers considering that they do not accept the conditions set by the international community and regard terrorism as a legitimate means to achieve their goals," he stressed.
He added that the Israeli government would continue to communicate with PA President Mahmoud Abbas but would focus mainly on matters related to the quality of life of the Palestinian population.
