Netanyahu, Mofaz To Form Unity Gov’t

By Haaretz May 7, 2012

Partners: Kadima?s Shaul Mofaz, right, is expected to be appointed to a cabinet position in a new government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Above, the men at a 2008 service in honor of Yitzhak Rabin. Image by getty images

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition chairman MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) reached an agreement early Tuesday morning to form a national unity government and cancel early elections, which had been expected to take place on September 4.

Under the agreement, Kadima will join Netanyahu’s government and support its policies in exchange for a commitment that the government will support its proposal for an alternative to the Tal Law, which allows full-time yeshiva students to defer national service.

Sources in Kadima told Haaretz that Mofaz is expected to be appointed as a minister in the government. Likud sources confirmed this, adding that they expected that Mofaz would become a minister without portfolio.

The dramatic announcement, which has yet to receive official confirmation, came as the Knesset was conducting early-morning discussions ahead of an expected vote to disperse in advance of early elections. Earlier in the evening, 119 MKs voted to approve in its first reading a bill to disperse the body, with only one lawmaker opposed.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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