After Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz announced that talks are underway to merge with the Blue and White Party headed by Benny Gantz, the Knesset Arrangements Committee approved the breakup of the Labor-Meretz union on Monday.
“We [Labor and Meretz] don’t see eye to eye on how to serve the citizens of Israel,” said Peretz, according to a report by Ynet. “I don’t downplay the importance of an opposition in a democratic state, but I have decided to examine the other possibilities we have to serve the public from within the government.”
Peretz and Gantz met, and agreed to work towards a merging of the two parties.
However, Labor Knesset member Mirav Michaeli criticized the move by Peretz and fellow Labor Knesset member Itzik Shmuli, saying, “You don’t sell out the party of [David] Ben-Gurion, [Yitzhak] Rabin and [Shimon] Peres.”
“I call upon all my colleagues in the party to resist this move. Our camp deserves good and proper leadership that keeps its promises and fights for the State of Israel,” she said.
Israeli media reports indicate that a deal is close between Blue and White, and Likud, to form a government.
