How the deal was struck / Under cover of a Knesset session

How the deal was struck / Under cover of a Knesset session

LV outlet uk After one hour of rumors, Likud, Kadima and Labor MKs were summoned to the caucus room at 2 A.M. Netanyahu, smiling arrogantly, passed by the large knot of journalists waiting to ambush him without giving a response.Get Haaretz on iPhone Get Haaretz on Android Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition head Shaul Mofaz surprised the Israeli public and the political establishment early Tuesday morning by announcing that Mofaz' Kadima party had joined the coalition in a national unity government.The move came as the Knesset was preparing to disperse for an early election, set for September 4.Under the new coalition agreement, its members undertook to pass a universal service law by the end of July, to amend the system of government by the end of this year, to renew the peace process, to increase personal security and to guarantee a more equitable division of national resources. The agreement does not go into the specifics of each issue, with the exception of the two dates cited, such as budget allocations or guidelines for changing the Haredi draft or the system of government.Mofaz will be appointed vice prime minister, acting as premier when Netanyahu is abroad. He will join the security cabinet and attend all limited ministerial forums that include the prime minister and deal with military, economic, social and foreign-policy issues. Kadima also agreed to supporting the government's policies until the next scheduled election, in November 2013.Kadima will assume the chairmanships of the Knesset Economics Committee, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and a third committee to be named later. Former Shin Bet security service chief Avi Dichter, a Mofaz confidant, is considered likely to be named to head the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

LV uk sale The formal announcement was made at a joint press conference Tuesday afternoon. "I realized it was possible to restore stability to the government without a new election," Netanyahu said about his decision to form a broad unity government. "I was told I wanted an election in order to escape the budget, the Tal Law [governing Haredi conscription] and the toughest questions facing Israel," he said, adding, "And now we are here saying we are joining hands. We have a historic opportunity."Speaking after Netanyahu, Mofaz said, "We decided to take a major historic step. There is neither extortion nor mere gestures here. I did not demand any post ... Kadima will carry out steps we did not manage to do in the past."Regarding his previous characterization of Netanyahu as a liar, Mofaz said: "We have put that behind us, we are looking to the future." The agreement was preceded by a late-night drama in the Knesset. Shortly before 1 A.M. Tuesday a Knesset security guard noticed two men leaving the compound. "Mofaz is about to join Netanyahu's government," the guard whispered to someone, setting off the Knesset rumor mill. The sleepy Knesset cafeteria began to buzz. Bleary-eyed MKs and cabinet ministers, who had readied for an all-night session over the Knesset's dissolution, began hunting for scraps of information about the rumored agreement with Kadima.Deputy Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud ) called across the cafeteria to MK Yoel Hasson (Kadima ), saying, "Thanks for getting us another year and a half in power."Hasson, one of a handful of Knesset members who had just been briefed on the development, smiled.MK Eitan Cabel (Labor ), who is running for chairmanship of the Histadrut labor federation, approached a table of Kadima MKs. "You'd even clean tables in the Prime Minister's Bureau," Cabel said sarcastically.

LV replica uk A short time before, Mofaz had been sitting in the Knesset plenum. His face gave no indication of the roiling drama. Most of his party's MKs were also unaware of the deal that was being hammered out. When the rumors began circulating, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan, both of whom are from Likud and were out of the loop, stood in the middle of the cafeteria, furiously calling on their cellphones in an attempt to find out exactly what Mofaz had been given. Was the eviction of Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood imminent? A change to the system of government?"The move clearly gives Netanyahu and [Defense Minister Ehud] Barak a safety net to launch a strike on Iran," said one opposition MK after hearing about the unity government that was in the works.MK Yariv Levin (Likud ), who was trying to bring a session of the Knesset House Committee on the vote to disperse the Knesset to a close, stood, visibly shocked. "What a night. I can't remember a drama like this happening before," he said to his fellow MKs. Levin received a succession of notes from party leaders, urging him to keep the meeting going to provide cover for the Netanyahu-Mofaz parley.Coalition chairman MK Zeev Elkin stood not far from the committee room, tying the final loose ends of the agreement in phone calls to Netanyahu and Mofaz, both of whom confide in him.Finally, the signal: Likud, Kadima and Labor MKs were summoned to the caucus room at 2 A.M. Netanyahu, smiling arrogantly, passed by the large knot of journalists waiting to ambush him without giving a response. "Why don't you all go to sleep?" he said before slipping into the conference room. He was quickly followed by his former chief of staff, Natan Eshel, who was recently forced out after being accused of harassing a female employee in the Prime Minister's Office. Eshel, one of the godfathers of the agreement, refused to speak with reporters.

cheap lv bags sale MK Miri Regev (Likud ), who followed closely after them, cried out: "Unbelievable, we're rebuilding Kadima."A little while later, after the agreement was announced, Sa'ar left the room and ran into MK Menachem Eliezer Moses (United Torah Judaism ). "Rabbi Moses, you can continue to work with me indefinitely," Sa'ar told him before embracing him warmly. "Maybe we won't get a peace agreement with the Palestinians out of this, but Netanyahu will bring a change to the system of government and pass the new Tal Law, these are very important accomplishments," another cabinet member said.The VIP box was supposed to seat many of Europe's leaders for the final of the tournament, scheduled for 1 July 2012, as Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych intended.Now though, that luxury box seems destined to remain empty for the championship's showpiece finale.With European leaders threatening to boycott the matches being played in Ukraine to protest against the treatment of former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, this championship, co-hosted with Poland, has every chance of becoming one of the most politicised sporting events in decades.Many political and sports observers in Kiev doubt that the threat to boycott the Euro 2012 matches will actually happen. And Ukrainian opposition leaders have urged Europe's leaders to boycott Ukraine's authorities rather than the football contest.The leader of the opposition Front for Change party, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine's third most popular politician after Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko, urged European leaders to come to the championship but suggested they ignore the president.Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson "The best scenario would be if the European leaders attended the championship, but did not meet President Yanukovych. It's supposed to be a visit to Ukrainians, not to Yanukovych," he said.

cheap lv loafers sale Ukrainian ex-foreign minister and Tymoshenko ally Borys Tarasyuk considers it unlikely that a boycott will go ahead, as the EU does not have an official, consolidated position on the issue. The European Commission has, however, said none of its officials will attend the tournament.European leaders are well aware that boycotting Euro 2012 would also mean ignoring the interests of thousands of fans, the former minister believes.The Ukrainian authorities are focusing on the supporters too.While Mr Yanukovych has given no comment on the threats of European leaders as significant as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to boycott the tournament, Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry has been open in its condemnation."Euro 2012 is sport, not politics, it's a football championship, not a political summit," said Oleg Voloshyn, the ministry's Director-General of Information Policy."Solving political problems this way means employing Cold War methods."Diplomats say a boycott would be detrimental primarily to the millions of Ukrainians, who either back other political parties or show very little interest in politics altogether.And people posting on a BBC Ukrainian forum appear to agree that ordinary people should not suffer because of the fault of politicians. "This boycott is not a slap for our politicians, it's a slap to Ukrainians who are looking forward to welcoming our European guests," says one contributor. "By this logic, we should boycott all significant events in the world, including in Russia, China and other countries."

cheap lv wallets sale European leaders are threatening to boycott over what they see as the mistreatment of ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko "It's our politicians who should be boycotted, not the football," Ihor from Chernivsti in western Ukraine argues."What does Euro 2012 have to do with it? Let them ban our authorities from Europe, or suspend their accounts! Why do people have to suffer?" writes Oleksiy from Ivano-Frankivsk in west Ukraine.Having spent $10bn on Euro 2012, the Ukrainian government feels confident the championship will take place, whatever European leaders might say."When we came to office, the treasury was empty, but we found money to overhaul stadiums, build airports, motorways, bridges, road junctions, repair hospitals, and now they say 'we'll boycott Euro'," Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov complained."How should we take this? Who do they want to humiliate? It's a humiliation to all of us, all the people," he added. On Wednesday, Yulia Tymoshenko, is due to be moved from Kachanivska prison to a hospital in Kharkiv, one of the Euro 2012 host-cities.The former PM gave her consent to be treated there, as long it was by German doctors. Her transfer to hospital follows months of European pressure and a continuous argument between Ms Tymoshenko and Ukrainian officials, in whom she has little trust.Commentators in Kiev believe this development may soften Europe's strong stand against the Ukrainian authorities. But the controversy has already caused Ukraine significant political damage, in the opinion of sports correspondent Mykola Nesenyuk."Kiev repeatedly emphasised that Euro 2012 would add to Ukraine's international rating. But, today this goal seems unattainable, even if the contest takes place here," he told BBC Ukrainian.

cheap lv belts sale The Scottish Ambulance Service said the move to ground them had been taken as a “precautionary measure” by their operator, Bond Air Services.It suspended flights by its fleet of Eurocopter EC135 helicopters after reports of cracks in the rotor blades on some of the aircraft.A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) said it had been told on Monday afternoon that Bond Air Services had suspended all EC135 flights as a precaution.“The company has taken the decision as a safety measure following receipt of a Safety Information Notice from Eurocopter, which was followed by further reports identifying cracks on the lower hub shaft flange on the EC135,” he said.It is the first time safety concerns have led ambulance bosses to suspend flights in the 12 years since they began operating in Scotland.The ambulance service said contingency plans had been put in place, with coastguard and military helicopters ready to carry patients in need of emergency air transfer.The coastguard had already been called to transport a patient with a “serious” health condition, an ambulance spokesman confirmed.A Bond spokesman said of the concerns: “The company’s first priority is safety, and it has reported its decision to suspend the flights of the EC 135 to Eurocopter and awaits further comment from Eurocopter once they have completed their investigation.”However, the company confirmed last night that after discussions with manufacturer Eurocopter, flights would resume at 7am today.The grounding came weeks after the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered daily safety inspections be carried out on the EC135 helicopters.The checks came after a crack was found on the main rotor of a Scottish air ambulance during a routine inspection.The discovery led the EASA to order a worldwide inspection of about 1,000 helicopters of the same model.Scottish ambulance helicopters are based at Inverness and Glasgow and usually fly daily.It is the second time in two years that the safety of the EC135 has raised concerns. In October 2010, air safety bosses warned that part of the transmission to the main rotor was not up to standard in the helicopters.A previous report by Easa highlighted how an engineering and laboratory investigation had already found that deformed safety pins used to secure blade bolts could have caused them to rotate.The report said the flaw “could lead to further crack propagation, possibly resulting in main rotor hub failure and consequent loss of the helicopter”.The Scottish Ambulance Service continued to fly its two King Air 200C planes, which are based in Aberdeen and Glasgow. They mainly respond to non-emergency medical requests to transfer patients between hospitals.