Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak met on
Saturday night to discuss the latter’s recent visit to the US, which led to a
dispute between the two.
The controversy broke out on Tuesday when a
conversation between Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, in which the
prime minister said Barak was undermining him in meetings in the US, was leaked
to the press.
The meetings in question included one with Chicago Mayor
Rahm Emmanuel, a close ally of US President Barack Obama, which Netanyahu
learned about from the press, and another with Obama’s national security
adviser, Tom Donilon, to which Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was not
invited.
Although the meeting took place just hours after the IAF shot down
an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Negev, sources close to the prime minister
said he would ask Barak for clarifications on his meetings in the
US.
Netanyahu was also expected to tell Barak that full coordination
between them must be maintained.
Meanwhile, Barak’s office said the
meeting was being held neither to rebuke the defense minister nor to demand
clarifications.
“No one rebukes the defense minister – not even the prime
minister,” the source said. “Barak is acting to keep the country and its
citizens safe, and he will continue to do so the way he understands, in Israel
and abroad. He is convinced he is doing what is best for Israel’s government,
its relationship with the US and its security.”
Following calls by Likud
ministers and MKs last week for Netanyahu to fire Barak, MK Tzipi Hotovely
tweeted: “At 9, the prime minister will meet with the defense minister to rebuke
him. The meeting is expected to start about three-and-a-half years
late.”
Earlier on Saturday, Yisrael Beytenu MK Faina Kirschenbaum accused
Barak of lessthan- collegial behavior and acting against the coalition
line.
“Leaving the country and presenting a line that opposes the
diplomatic and security policy of the government of which you are a member harms
Israel’s deterrence,” Kirschenbaum said at an event in Ramat
Hasharon.
Also this weekend, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and
Science and Technology Minister Daniel Herschkowitz called for elections as soon
as possible, following meetings with the prime minister. The two head Yisrael
Beytenu and Habayit Hayehudi, respectively.
Netanyahu met with coalition
party leaders to discuss whether they would support the 2013 state budget,
though sources close to the prime minister say he has already made up his mind
and would prefer to hold elections in February. The prime minister has said he
will make his final decision public before the Knesset returns from its extended
summer recess on October 15.
Following his meeting with Netanyahu on
Friday, Liberman said Yisrael Beytenu was prepared to support a responsible
budget but that it seemed unlikely other coalition factions would agree to do
so.
“If we are going to have elections, it should be as soon as possible
in order to not reverse this government’s security and economic achievements,”
Liberman said.
The soonest possible date for an election would be January
15, although sources close to Netanyahu have said he preferred February 12, the
first Tuesday after his government passes the four-year
mark.
Herschkowitz echoed Liberman’s statements, telling Channel 2 the
government must “act responsibly by either passing a responsible budget or going
to elections as soon as possible so the minimum amount of time will pass before
the next government can deal with the global economic crisis.”