Twelfth Knesset
(1988 - 1992)
The main events, which occurred during the term of
the 12th Knesset were
the continuation of the intifada,
the Gulf War and and the
beginning of the Middle East peace
process. During the first 15 months of the 12th Knesset another
national unity government served, even though according to the political
make-up of the Knesset, the Likud could have formed
a narrow government. The government was forced to resign after the Knesset passed a motion of no-confidence on March 15, 1990, with the Labor
Party voting in favor and five of the six Shas MKs being absent.
After efforts by Labor leader Shimon
Peres to form a government failed, Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir formed
a narrow government.
Thoughout the term of the 12th Knesset the intifada continued to rage in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and several
grave terrorist attacks
occurred, including the deliberate rolling down of bus No. 405 into
a ravine along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, in which 14 passangers were
killed. Additional serious events connected with the intifada were the
disturbances on the Temple
Mount during the Feast
of Tabernacles, which ended with the killing of 20 Palestinians
and the wounding of 53 on the Mount by the Israeli security forces,
and the murder of seven Palestinian workers by Ami Popper in Rishon
Letzion on May 20, 1990.
On May 15, 1989, the government announced a peace
initiative, at the center of which were the opening of talks with Palestinians
from the territories and the handling of elections there. It was emphasized
that no talks would be held with the PLO.
The National Unity Government fell apart against the background of differences
of opinion on how the negotiations should be run, and the nature of
the agreement to which Israel should strive. These were issues widely
debated by the public and in the Knesset. Following the Gulf
War, in which, at the request of the U.S., Israel remained passive,
even though it suffered at least 40 direct hits by Iraqi Scud missiles,
the peace process was given a new impetus and changed course, with the Madrid Conference at its center.
The Conference convened in the Spanish capital at
the end of October 1991, and following it, bilateral talks opened between
Israel and its neighbors, as well as multilateral
talks on specific issues. Within this framework as well, Israel
refused to hold contacts with Palestinians directly and officially connected
to the PLO, and many discussions took place on this issue both within
and outside the Knesset.
Following Israel's policy of constraint in the course
of the Gulf War and the Madrid Conference, a significant improvement
occurred in Israel's inernational
status, which manifested itself in a significant rise in the number
of states maintaining diplomatic relations with it. The Arab
boycott was also implemented less rigorously and the U.S. involvement
in the peace process intensified. However, towards the end of the period
the tension between Israel and the U.S. grew against the background
of the Washington's conditioning the granting of 10 billion dollars
worth of American loan
guarantees for the absorption of new immigrants, on the stoppage
of all settlement activities
in the territories.
Other issues which were dealt with in this period
were the immigration from the
Soviet Union, and later the republics of the former Soviet Union,
and especially the question of "Direct absorption". "Operation
Solomon", which took place on Ma 24, 1991, involved the flying
of 15,000 Ethiopian Jews directly
from Ethiopia to Israel.
The distress of the Jews who remained in Yemen and Syria also
came up for discussion. Other issues dealt with by the 12th Knesset
were: the Demjanjuk trial;
the placing ofthe "Voice of America" transmitters in the Arava;
the problems of battered children, youth in distress and violence among
youth, and the problem of the adoption of children abroad; the problem
of foreign workers in Israel; the AIDS problem and the "Betzelem"
reports on human rights violations. In this period the second television
channel and cable TV started to function in Israel, and direct broadcasts
from the Knesset plenum were begun.
In the course of the term of the 12th Knesset three
important basic laws were enacted: the Basic
Law: Freedom of Occupation, the Basic
Law: Human Dignity and Freedom, and the new version of the Basic
Law: the Government, which introduced the system of the direct election
of the Prime Minister. As a result of the ugly horse-trading that went
on in the efforts to form a new government in the three months after
the government was brought down in March 1990, the Basic
Law: the Knesset was amended in order to limit manifestations of
"Kalanterism" - the phenomena of politicians changing political
parties in return for material benefits. There was also an increase
in the number of petitions to the High Court of Justice, in connection
with the work of the Knesset, and the Knesset held numerous debates
that dealt with the functioning of the government system and the Knesset.
Sources: The Knesset |