Livni expects to be dismissed and coalition will be dissolved

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni risks losing her job on Wednesday because of her opposition to the nation-state bill which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to pass, Israeli media reported.

Livni, along with Finance Minister Yair Lapid, said they would veto any vote on the bill which would enshrine in law Israel’s status as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

In an interview with Channel 2, Livni said she would oppose the bill in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, adding that she expected the prime minister to sack her on that day also.

“I will not lend a hand to this bill. I will not vote for it,” she said yesterday. “I am thinking of voting against. I certainly won’t let the proposal pass as long as it depends on me,” she added. “I won’t allow the bill to pass while I am in the bathroom.”

Meanwhile, Lapid said: “If Netanyahu wants to dismantle the coalition because of this situation, it shows a lack of responsibility.”

If they oppose the bills, Netanyahu is liable to dismiss them because it would be expressing a lack of confidence in a government decision to which they belong.

Israeli commentators described the cabinet meeting, held yesterday, as the most tense since the government was formed.

The session witnessed clashes and mutual accusations between the head of the Israeli government on the one hand, and Lapid and Livni on the other. Livni accused Netanyahu of “destroying the country”, adding that he was tempting ministers in her party to vote against the law in order to find an excuse to dismiss her.