Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar will convene the Ministerial Committee on Legislation tomorrow (Monday) in order to determine the government's position on the bills needed to establish the new government, with the intention of delaying the passage of these bills.
Among the bills is legislation which would allow Shas chairman Aryeh Deri to be appointed as a minister despite his conviction for tax offenses.
"This week, the Knesset is planning to mark the International Day for the Fight against Corruption. And what more appropriate way to do this than through personal hijacking [of the legislative process] by amending a basic law, the entire purpose of which is to evade a second ruling on the issue of the moral turpitude of a designated minister and to lower the bar for serving in the government in terms of purity of character? This is robbery in broad daylight," Sa'ar said.
Earlier, Minister Ze'ev Elkin referred to reports that the opposition is working on a plan aimed at blocking the moves to form the new government. "I am currently preparing the opposition move in the Knesset. I did not say that I am preparing surprises, but that we will use all the parliamentary tools at our disposal."
In an interview with 103FM, Elkin said: "We aren't deluding ourselves, a government headed by Netanyahu will be formed here and it will be based on a coalition of 64 MKs, along with the move they are taking at the moment of passing very problematic laws before the government was formed, why are they even passing all the laws now? They could have formed a government yesterday, they don't trust each other. Apparently there is a complete lack of trust," he added.
On Friday, Ma'ariv reported that a plan is being hatched among the incoming Opposition aimed at sowing chaos in the new Netanyahu government.
According to the report, two senior members of the opposition - secretary of the Yesh Atid faction, MK Boaz Toporovsky and the National Union Camp's Ze'ev Elkin - a former Likud lawmaker and Netanyahu ally - are drawing up a "Total War" plan which aims to disrupt the formation of the government during the legislative stages of the "Deri, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich laws."
Shas chief MK Aryeh Deri, Otzma Yehudit chairman MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Religious Zionist Party chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich have all pushed for the passage of laws prior to the formation of the new government which would ensure the fulfillment of key coalition agreements.
They include an amendment to the Basic Law: The Government, which would enable Deri to serve as government minister despite his recent conviction for tax crimes as part of a plea bargain; a law granting direct authority over the police department to the new National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir, and transferring authority over the Border Police to the NSM; and legislation separating control over the Civil Administration which governs Area C of Judea and Samaria from the Defense Minister and placing it in the hands of a second minister within the Defense Ministry.
Officials cited in Friday's report said the "Total War" includes a plan to stymie swift passage of the three laws required before the formation of the new government, further delaying the new coalition's establishment.
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, whose mandate to form a government expires on Sunday, formally requested Thursday evening a two-week extension.A senior member of the outgoing government said that, "the [new] Opposition has the tools to fight against the coalition's rapacity."
"We are preparing a painful surprise for them. Many [Knesset fights] await them, from lengthy discussions on the election of the new Speaker of the Knesset to those on the establishment of committees for preparing voting legislature for enacting laws, to talks on the laws themselves. We will make sure that every discussion lasts as long as possible."
While the incoming coalition, with a comfortable 64-seat majority, is likely to pass the three laws, the new Opposition will attempt to filibuster each piece of legislation in a bid to draw out the process through Netanyahu's entire two-week extension, forcing the new coalition to form a government without the passage of all three laws. This, in turn, could foment disunity within the new government.
"From the moment [the outgoing Knesset Speaker] Mickey Levy leaves the Knesset Speaker's dais, and the new Knesset Speaker takes the position, the Opposition will start to drag things out at every opportunity," officials from the incoming Opposition said. "We will make life hard for them."