There will be no civil war in Israel, Netanyahu vows

Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin determined there would be no civil war and this principle has stood for 64 years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday at a memorial ceremony for the fallen of the 1948 Altalena ship confrontation.

The Altalena, a weapons ship carrying members of Irgun, the pre-state Zionist militia led by Begin, was sunk by a Palmach unit commanded by Yitzhak Rabin after the ship arrived in Tel Aviv against the Israeli government's orders.

Following the affair, Begin was lauded for choosing not to retaliate against the Palmach and causing a civil war.

During Sunday's memorial, Begin's legacy was again praised. Netanyahu said, "During the tragedy of the Altalena, at the worst of the tragedy, Begin determined a clear and simple principle: There would be no civil war. He knew that civil war would be the end of the State of Israel."

"Think of what justification Begin had to act differently — the death of dear fighters who only wanted to defend the homeland, a ship laden with weapons that could have helped in the defense of the homeland, in liberating the homeland, in defending Jerusalem, in defending the Jewish communities — today we would say 'the settlement movement,' what justification he had!" Netanyahu continued. "But Begin did not think twice. He did not hesitate for a moment. He determined a clear principle: There would be no civil war. And this principle that he determined at the dawn of our independence has stood for 64 years. It is valid today. It will always be valid."

Netanyahu compared the lessons of the Altalena affair to his recent decision to defeat a bill that would have bypassed a court order to evacuate 30 families from the Beit El neighborhood of Ulpana Hill.

Netanyahu, who said the so-called outpost arrangement bill would have inflicted irreparable harm on Israel and put it in legal jeopardy because it denied private Palestinian landowners their claim on their property, told his right-wing allies that constructing settlements should not come at the expense of the rule of law and said his plans to relocate the homes strikes the right balance between staying within the law and strengthening the settlement enterprise.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said, "We have one state, one government, one army. In the State of Israel, the government, and only the government, sets policy. In the State of Israel, all are bound by the law, including the government and the prime minister. The government's policy is clear — we maintain the settlement movement while upholding the law. We maintain the settlement movement against a wave of pressures from home and abroad. We maintain the settlement movement and we do so while upholding the law and I tell you my dear friends — there is no contradiction between the two. On the contrary — undermining the rule of law will hurt and weaken the settlement movement while upholding the rule of law strengthens it. Menachem Begin understood this at the time of the Altalena and we understand it very well today."

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who also spoke at the memorial on Sunday, said, "Begin did not see enemies in front of him, he saw brothers. And brothers, he would not fight. The Altalena affair teaches us that the sovereign always has the power to act, but it is also his duty to establish channels of dialogue."

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