MK General (res.) Yair Golan of the Meretz party has blamed “political interests and corruption” for the tragedy that occurred last week in Meron, in which 45 people lost their lives.

Writing in his Twitter account, Golan stated:

“Corruption in the highest places led to public safety being neglected in favor of making political capital. The religious establishment, the haredi political parties, and [PM Benjamin] Netanyahu used [the issue of Mount] Meron [on Lag b’Omer] and also the coronavirus to gain political advantage, even though this meant abandoning all concern for human life.”

“45 people died because of political calculations which were allowed to trump safety issues. This is why we must remove Netanyahu from Balfour [the Prime Minister’s official residence] and form a coalition without the participation of the haredi parties,” Golan concluded.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has just another three days in which to form a governing coalition before his mandate to do so expires, on Tuesday at midnight. Due to the Meron tragedy, negotiations between the various political parties with the aim of forming a government were suspended, but will resume later on Sunday and are likely to become more frenetic as Netanyahu’s deadline looms.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Blue & White party, MK Benny Gantz, reiterated on Sunday his refusal to join a coalition headed by Netanyahu.

“Even if they ask me another 100 times, my answer remains firm and clear, and my door remains shut and bolted to Netanyahu,” Gantz told fellow party members at a faction meeting. “I remain committed to the Change faction, and only to that faction.”

If Netanyahu fails to form a coalition by midnight on Tuesday, the mandate to do so will revert to the President, Reuven Rivlin, who will have two options open before him: to hand the mandate to a different MK, or to give the Knesset the mandate.

If MK Yair Lapid, as head of the largest political party after the Likud (Yesh Atid, with 18 seats), is given the mandate to attempt to form a coalition, he will at the same time gain control of the influential Arrangements Committee, and will be able to limit the various administrative measures taken by Netanyahu and his Likud party that impact on the Knesset and its committees.

If, instead, Rivlin decides to hand the mandate to the Knesset as a whole, a 21-day period will commence during which any 61 MKs can jointly request of the President that he hand the mandate to an MK of their choosing. If such an initiative does not occur within that 21-day period, Israel will yet again head to national elections.

Source: Arutz Sheva