Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu capitulated during this evening's cabinet discussions on the Trajtenberg Committee's recommendations and decided to postpone the vote on the proposals until next week. The postponement came after a marathon nine hour debate during which Netanyahu despaired of achieving a majority in the cabinet in favor of the recommendations of the Trajtenberg Committee for social change.
The official announcement from the prime minister's office said, "The prime minister is convinced that he will succeed in finding a majority for a significant change in national priorities. A change of such magnitude is not a simple matter but the prime minister is convinced that he will get a majority for a government decision for the welfare of Israel's citizens."
The cabinet met today to discuss the conclusions of the Trajtenberg Committee and had resolved to vote on the recommendations after Netanyahu changed his mind on the matter. The cabinet meeting had been scheduled to end at 4.30 pm but because of Netanyhu's difficulty in finding a majority to support the Trajtenberg Committee recommendations, the meeting carried on for several more hours.
At present it seems that 16 cabinet ministers are opposed to the Trajtenberg Committee recommendations, while 12 support the proposals. The opponents are Yisrael Beitenu (5), Shas (4), Haatzma'ut (4) and three Likud ministers Moshe Kahlon, Silvan Shalom and Yossi Peled.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 3, 2011
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