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Minister Lieberman: any discussion of "core issues" and we're out of the government
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| By Israel Insider staff January 6, 2008 |
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Two Jerusalem organizations have warned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that talks with US President George Bush or West Bank chieftain Mahmoud Abbas regarding possible division of Jerusalem would be a clear violation of Israeli law. A prominent attorney for the Victims of Arab Terror (VAT) and Twenty-Four Shifts organizations, Baruch Ben-Yosef, said that if Olmert did not announce an end to all talks over the future of Jerusalem, legal steps would be pursued against him.
The law in question is not a regulation or a misdemeanor but the rough equivalent of an Article or Amendment to the US Constitution. Israel has no constitution, but Basic Laws are treated with seriousness and solemnity by the courts.
Baruch Ben-Yosef pointed out that Clauses 5 and 6 Israel's Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel clearly indicate that Jerusalem's status as the united and sole capital of Israel may not be compromised in any way. The law, passed in 1980 under Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Yitzchak Navon, states, "Jerusalem, whole and united, is the capital of Israel." Clause 5 stipulates the precise area of Jerusalem, while Clause 6 states, "No authorities relating to the area of Jerusalem and that is in the legal purview of the State of Israel or the Municipality of Jerusalem shall be transferred to any foreign political or governmental element, whether permanently or for a set period."
Clause 7 states that Clauses and 5 and 6 may not be changed except if another Basic Law is accepted by the majority of the Knesset.
Olmert gets an Ultimatum
"According to frequently-published statements by you and some of the ministers in your government," Ben-Yosef's letter to Olmert states, "you intend to negotiate with Israel's enemies - including Mr. Abu Mazen, the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority -- regarding the re-division of Jerusalem and the ceding of parts of the city -- in violation of Clauses 5 and 6 of this law."
"The very mention of dividing the city and giving up parts of it, while the Basic Law on Jerusalem is still in effect and/or Clauses 5-6 have not been nullified, is a violation of the Basic Law. If you wish to hold negotiations with a foreign element, and especially with an enemy of Israel such as Abu Mazen, then you must act in accordance with the law's Clause 7 - i.e., nullifying and/or changing [Clauses 5 and 6] via a majority vote in the Knesset."
Attorney Ben-Yosef notes that the timing of his letter indicated its urgency: "Given that you and/or ministers in your government are liable to conduct such negotiations during and after the visit of US President Bush, you are hereby required to declare immediately that you will observe the Basic Law and that you will not conduct any negotiations over the future of Jerusalem while the above law and/or its clauses are still in effect."
"If by next Sunday, the 28th of Tevet 5768 (January 6), I do not receive this declaration by return email, my clients will act immediately to obtain a court order preventing you from waging such negotiations."
As of 2030 on January 6, there was no indication that Olmert had replied to Ben-Yosef's letter.
In practical terms, the pressure on this legal point suggests that Olmert will either need to move for an amendment to the Basic Law or continue to flaunt it. It remains to be seen whether the courts will order an end to Olmert's Jerusalem talks.
A more practical warning and ultimatum came from Minister of Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman, Chairman of the Israel Beitenu party, who threatened that discussions of "core issues" including Jerusalem would force him and his party to leave the Olmert government.
Lieberman said that while his party was not seeking reasons to leave the coalition, it was also not "grabbing the horns of the altar" -- an expression equivalent to "cling to his seat." When asked if Israel Beiteinu was coordinating its position with the Shas religious party, Lieberman said: "Israel Beiteinu has a clear stance: No negotiations regarding the core issues."
While Olmert's coalition could survive without Israel Beiteinu - Kadima, Labor and Shas alone hold more than 60 Knesset seats - losing the eleven seats held by Lieberman's right-wing party would be a significant blow to the government and undermine its claim to being centrist. Shas leaders have also said that they would oppose any territorial concession regarding Jerusalem.
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