The ILA fiasco

The Netanyahu Government suffered its first defeat in the Knesset last week when the Israel Lands Authority Reform Bill had to be withdrawn before it was voted down. This came about because the Likud whip who was supposed to guide the bill thru the Knesset failed to ensure that it had sufficient coalition support, and because several Government Ministers from coalition parties failed to support the bill. Once the bill was withdrawn, PM Netanyahu warned Ministers that they would be fired if they did not support the bill when it was re-introduced and then he met with several of them to try to re-tailor the bill to fit their criticisms.
The ILA is the organization set up by the Israeli Government following independence to administer lands that were not of clear ownership. In time this became a massive bureaucracy and also conflicted with other parts of the Government, such as the Housing Ministry. The bill was intended to transfer ownership to those who had been holding land for 60 years where no clear prior private ownership exists, to open up the ILA holdings for private use and to delineate the role of the ILA relative to other Government Ministries. What precisely is so controversial about this reform bill is unclear, although it caught Netanyahu by surprise and he is now trying to mend the situation.
Meanwhile, pending the re-submission of this (amended) bill to the Knesset, the Likud has other legislative problems. The so-called "Mofaz bill" that would allow a group of 7 or more MKs to break off and form their own party was submitted today. Although it was supposed to have been submitted to allow former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to leave Kadima and join the Likud Coalition, he denied authorship of the eponymous bill. There are also groups of disaffected MKs who might like to leave the Labor Party and/or the Likud coalition, so this bill could result in political turmoil in the Knesset. How the results of this bill will affect the political situation in Israel is unknown.
There are other bills pending, for example the Gafni bill that proposes public support for haredi schools, that so far have not been supported because they do not follow the state-mandated curriculum of the Education Ministry. This political season is loaded with danger for Netanyahu, how far does he go to placate the many different groups represented in his bloated coalition, while at the same time the US is breathing down his neck.