The number of Knesseters expected to support the proposed peace treaty with Egypt will probably be larger than the 84 who supported the Camp-David accords this was the general opinion here today.
The Knesset will probably be called to vote on the accord next Tuesday. Each Knesseter will probably be given 10 minutes to speak. Assuming that almost all of the 120 Knesseters will use the opportunity, and taking into account the opening and concluding speeches, the session is already now expected to last more than 20 hours. It now appears that none of the Knesset factions will impose party discipline on its members and, therefore, each Knesseter will be free to vote according to his/her conscience.
The main cause for the expected large number of affirmative votes will probably be the approval of the treaty by National Religious Party and Likud Knesseters who abstained in the Camp David vote. Those Knesseters now say that on such a decisive issue one cannot abstain, and are therefore believed to be in favor of the accord.
The main opposition to the agreement in the Likud is from the La’am faction. Their partners on the other end of the political spectrum will be the Communists. Taking into account this political scene, it is expected that as many as 90 Knesseters will support the agreement, two-thirds of the house. The vote on the Camp David accord was 84-19.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
