PM could punish Danon for insubordination

Likud MK could pay a price for recent moves against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
Netanyahu, Mofaz announce deal (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Netanyahu, Mofaz announce deal
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Likud MK Danny Danon could pay a price for his recent moves against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, sources close to Netanyahu said Thursday.
The coalition agreement Netanyahu signed with Kadima head Shaul Mofaz grants his party the chairmanship of both the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as well as an unnamed committee.
There were initially rumors that the committee given to Kadima would be Constitution, Law and Justice, or Education, Culture and Sports. But the deal with Kadima does not permit harming other coalition partners.
The Law Committee is led by Yisrael Beytenu’s David Rotem. The Education Committee is set to be transferred soon to Independence faction head Einat Wilf.
The Likud has two committees it could give to Kadima: The Committee on the Status of Women led by MK Tzipi Hotovely and Danon’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee.
While Hotovely voted in favor of the coalition deal with Kadima, Danon upset Netanyahu by voting against it. Danon also embarrassed Netanyahu by running against him for the chairmanship of the Likud convention, for which the prime minister hoped to run unopposed.
“I will serve immigrants to Israel in any post I hold,” Danon said. “I have proven I have influence wherever I am.”